Wayne State University QuarkNet Center
Submitted by kcecire
on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 - 09:24
The Wayne State University QuarkNet center, under mentors Rob Harr and Paul Karchin, has a strong program of research each summer. Detroit-area high school students team up with QuarkNet teachers to work with cosmic ray detectors and the e-Lab in their own projects. The Wayne State group also works with the Detriot Metropolitan Area Physics Teachers (DMAPT) to help tjem bring particle physics to the classroom and create opportunities for professional development. Wayne State is also involved in International Masterclasses each year, allowing students to be "particle physicists for a day".
Description
Students and teachers studying cosmic ray, physicists and teachers collaborating, and more.
How Angle Affects Muon Flux
Pranathi Locula(Troy High School) and Sadia Farha(Frontier International Academy)
Teacher Mentor: Mike Niedballa(Michigan Collegiate High School)
Research Mentor: Rob Harr (Wayne State University)
The purpose of our research is to determine the effect of changing the angle of the cosmic ray detectors on muon flux. By changing the angle at which the detectors are pointed, we are changing the amount of atmosphere that the muons have to pass through and the direction that the muons have to travel in in order to hit the detector. Thus, our hypothesis is that as we increase the angle from horizontal the muon flux will increase. To change the angle at which the detectors are held, we used a wooden telescope with racks to place the detectors in. We secured the telescope at a different angle for each study and then analyzed our data. After completing our research, we found that as the angle increased, the amount of muon flux also increased. We concluded that this is because at a lower angle, the muons have to pass through more atmosphere, making it harder for them to reach the detector, resulting in less flux. At a higher angle, the muons have to pass through less of the atmosphere to reach the detectors, resulting in more flux.
Amount of Shower events vs. Time of day
By: Kevin Dietz(Grosse Pointe South) and Evan Croft(Fraser High School)
Teacher: Mike Niedballa (Michigan Collegiate High School)
Research mentor: Robert Harr (Wayne State University)
Our purpose was to find if there is any pattern in the frequency of shower events per hour throughout the day. To test this, we set up our detectors on a table parallel to the ground. We found the frequencies of events in one hour bins. We then averaged the frequency of events for each hour and looked for any patterns in the average frequency. The data is consistent and shows no obvious trend. Possible future experiments could look for patterns in muon showers with respect to atmospheric pressure or other phenomena.
Speed of a Muon
Lueda Shemitraku (Troy High School), Alexander Quinn (Greenhills School)
Mike Niedballa ( Michigan Collegiate High School)
Robert Harr (Wayne State University)
The purpose of our research to measure any offset between the paddles to accurately measure the speed of a muon. To measure the offset we conducted 4 tests, testing paddles 0 and 1, and paddles 2 and 3. We first staked 0 and 1, collected data, then switched them. After running a shower study we found out there is an offset of .3667 between them. We performed the same test but on paddles 2 and 3. For those paddles we found that they both matched up with 0 offset. Since we knew the accuracy of the paddles we could then measure the speed of a muon. We added 1.5 m distance between the paddles and found for 1 and 0, speed of .1881569 m/nanosec.For 2 and 3 we found a speed of .31129567 m/nanosec Possible labs from this study could be measuring the time delay of not just 0 and 1, and 2 and 3 but all the combinations possible.
Muon Directional and Angular Flux Study
Garrett Weidig (Grosse Pointe South HS), Kristopher Mortensen (Groves High School)
Mike Niedballa (Michigan Collegiate High School)
Robert Harr (Wayne State University)
The purpose of the research was to find a pattern in the direction and angle of which muons enter and hit our atmosphere. To test this, we set up a telescope, a device used to separate cosmic ray detectors and also to keep them in alinement, so that it could be maneuvered to face North, South, East, and West and also pivot in the middle to make angles of 0, 30, 60, and 90 degrees. From there, we set the coincidence level to 2 and started recording data for each direction at each angle. After this, flux studies were ran and our results showed that for all channels in all directions the ideal angle to detect muons is at 30 degrees from the vertical (60 from the horizontal). Of the data involved with the 30 degrees, there were an overwhelming amount of hits coming from the North and the West. This result could have been the result of a faulty voltmeter which would then lead to faulty volt settings in the experiments. These results (the heavy favoring of the North) could be suspected of being this way because of the magnetic field. For later experiments, we suggest that they are conducted in different parts of the world where the magnetic field is stronger or weaker.
2014 Annual Report - Wayne State University
Wayne State University, 9th year in QuarkNet
Mentors: Profs. Robert Harr and Gil Paz
2014 WSU Abstract: Flux Study
How Muon Flux is Affected by Barometric Pressure and Temperature
2014 WSU Abstract: Measuring Muon Lifetime
Which geometry is best for calculating muon lifetime?
2014 WSU Abstract: Angle and Flux
The relationship between angle and flux
2014 WSU Abstract: Ionic Solutions and Muons
The effect of ionic solutions and their concentrations on the arrival rate of muons
2014 WSU Abstract: Comparing the Velocity of Muons Indoors vs Outdoors
Muon Velocity