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Exploring Cosmic Rays: DAQ Equipment in Muon Lifetime Experiments

Discover cosmic rays using the 6000 Series DAQ equipment. Investigate flux as Muon decay time reveals insights. Conduct Shower Studies. Hypothesize, experiment, and analyze results to understand cosmic ray behavior. Further studies needed for conclusive evidence.

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Exploring Cosmic Rays: DAQ Equipment in Muon Lifetime Experiments

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  1. QuarkNet 2011 • Mohamed Ali-Hussein • Ayasha Jabber

  2. Cosmic Rays • Discovered by Victor Hess in 1912 • High energy particles (atoms, protons, electrons) traveling at the speed of light into the Earth from outer space • Produced when stars collapse and produce shock waves

  3. Equipment • 6000 Series DAQ • Cosmic Ray detector, equipped with scintillator and Photo Multiplier Tube • Computer with hyper-terminal program

  4. Flux Experiments • Allows investigating cosmic rays flux as a function of time of day, solar activity, altitude, and many other factors. • Asks question, “How does the rate at which cosmic rays pass through my detector depend on ____ ?” • Detectors can be stacked or separated. • Specific experiment used for our group study, due to its flexible dataset. • ΦCR = events/(time)(area)

  5. Muon Lifetime Experiments • If muon passes through counter 1 and into counter 2, both should have a signal at the same time. • If muon stops within a a certain detector, it will decay within that detector, and generate a second signal once it is done doing so. • Its decay time can be extracted from the data file. • Time of flight before entering detector is irrelevant. • Detectors must be stacked on top of each other.

  6. Shower Studies • Detectors spread throughout a room, or even a city (when collaborating with other schools). • Geometry must be recalculated for each individual detector. • Allows students to make predictions about the direction of which the shower came from. • Had some trouble with this specific study, due to an over-sensitive detector.

  7. Hypothesis • Angled detectors receive less hits than those laid flat on a level surface.

  8. Procedure • All four detectors were placed at 0° and left to collect data for an hour. • After the allotted time, the detectors were shifted to a 30° position and left to collect data for an hour. • The same method was used for 60° and 90° positions.

  9. Results • Between 30° and 60°, one sees the least dramatic shift in events, due to there being a less noticeable change in position compared to other pairs. • Data is conclusive, nonetheless; the greater the deviation from the origin, the less the cosmic rays made contact with the detectors.

  10. Afterthoughts • Further study (longer time intervals, more detectors) is required on a larger scale to doubtlessly confirm results.

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