Cosmic Ray Study A Study of Cosmic Rays

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Cosmic Ray Study A Study of Cosmic Rays Ballenger, Shivers, Stephens, Stillwell

Cosmic Ray Study A Study of Cosmic Rays Ballenger, Shivers, Stephens, Stillwell

What is a cosmic ray? • Cosmic rays are composed from the same subatomic

What is a cosmic ray? • Cosmic rays are composed from the same subatomic particles as all matter of Earth • Cosmic rays come from the sun and neutron stars

What does this mean? • Cosmic rays bombard the Earth from space • Most

What does this mean? • Cosmic rays bombard the Earth from space • Most of these high energy particles do not reach the surface of the Earth • Reaching the atmosphere and the magnetic field, they collide with other particles and decay into muons and neutrinos

Our Investigation • We were trying to discover if angle and direction has a

Our Investigation • We were trying to discover if angle and direction has a direct relationship to the number of cosmic rays entering Earth’s atmosphere. • Hypothesis: If we place the cosmic ray detector at different angles relative to earth’s surface, then more cosmic rays will be detected at 60 degrees, then 45 degrees, then 30 degrees. Most cosmic rays will hit at 60 degrees because it is closer to 90 degrees which will have the most hits since it is perpendicular to the earth’s surface. We also thought that more comic rays would be detected from the east, because the magnetic field runs south to north. According to the right hand rule, the particles will curve in towards the east. • To investigate this, we set up an experiment in which a cosmic ray detector at each of the cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West), and the angles of 30, 45, and 60 degrees in each direction recorded the number of cosmic ray hits

Results: North and East • The following graph shows our results from the detector

Results: North and East • The following graph shows our results from the detector facing in the northern and eastern directions • In the northern graph, the first group of hits is from 30°, the second from 45°, and the third from 60°. In the eastern graph, it starts with the 60°, then 45°, and the third from 30°. • In both directions, there is a direct correlation between degree and number of hits. • 60° received the most hits, 45° the second most, and 30° received the least

Results: 45° • The first set of data is from the south, then the

Results: 45° • The first set of data is from the south, then the north, then west, and east • As you will see, the northern and southern directions had less hits than the eastern and western directions

Nor So th uth Eas We t st 30 degre es 525. 545. 5

Nor So th uth Eas We t st 30 degre es 525. 545. 5 520 5 555 45 degre es 962. 887. 103 109 5 5 60 degre 160 150 167 es can see 7. 5 from the 5 table, 5 a 0 As you larger angle measurement received more hits than a smaller angle. Also, you can see that the east and west directions had more hits than the north and south directions. There is an outlier at 60 degrees East.

Graphical Analysis • The following graphs show that the angle from the ground affects

Graphical Analysis • The following graphs show that the angle from the ground affects the flux. The graphs will show that the distribution is Gaussian, in other words a bell curve. This way we can predict the flux at any angle.

“With cosmic rays I went from loser to winner!!” - Mike Ballenger Brutus says

“With cosmic rays I went from loser to winner!!” - Mike Ballenger Brutus says “Cosmic rays are fun!!”