Effect of Angle Orientation of Muon Detectors on Muon Flux
The purpose of this experiment was to find the effect of angle orientation of muon detectors on muon flux. The angles tested were at zero degrees, forty-five degrees, and ninety degrees, in correlation from the horizontal.
In order to test the effects of angles on muon flux, muon detectors were stacked and oriented from the horizontal by a wooden mount that could rotate about an axis. Each muon flux study was run for at least eight hours before it was uploaded and analyzed. The muon detectors were set at one-fold coincidence and two-fold coincidences when collecting data for the experiment.
The data collected shows that the highest muon flux was at an angle of ninety degrees followed by an angle of forty-five degrees, and the least was at an angle of zero degrees. The relationship between muon flux and angle is a positive linear relationship. This was true for both the one-fold and the two-fold coincidence tests. These results were concluded by using descriptive analysis and statistical tests.
The results of this experiment could inform future researchers to set their equipment at ninety degrees to acquire the highest muon flux; this is important because muon originates from collisions of cosmic rays with earth’s atmosphere and the direction of the muons are believed to be random. By finding the maximum angle for muon flux, this knowledge could be used for a muon catalyst fusion research by allowing for an optimal collection of muons. Muon catalyst fusion uses muons to make deuterium molecules that releases massive amounts of energy, muon catalyst fusion may be am infinite energy source if enough muons are collected from the cosmic rays.
Research Conducted By:
Marco Lin
Lake Shore High School
Kristian Wilks
Lake Shore High School
Warren Consolidated Schools