Introduction
Muons were first discovered in 1936 at California Institute of Technology by Carl D. Anderson and Seth Neddermeyer. These researchers were studying cosmic radiation when they noticed particles curved strangely when getting passed through a magnetic field. The lifetime of muons is 2.2 μs and travel an average speed of .98c, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum. Due to their fast speed, muons experience notable effects of special relativity: such as length contraction and time dilation. When detecting muons, equipment need to account for relativistic shifts. Without making adjustments in Geiger-Mueller Counters and Scintillators, an artificially high number of muons will be detected. To clarify, muons do not experience general relativity because they have a very small mass and do not distort spacetime. Muons experience the side effects special relativity because they move near the speed of light.
Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Hermann Minkowski, and others proposed their theory of special relativity. Prior to proposing their theories, most thought that newtonian movements best described 2-D Motion. Newton’s equations still hold truth today, but only for an object moving at slow speeds. The detection of muons on the ground level prove Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity. Einstein’s theory on special relativity is based on two postulates: the laws of physics are invariant in all inertial systems, and the speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of the light source. The distances and times between pairs of events vary when measured in different inertial frames of reference. This can be seen in Lorentz Contraction length contraction equation
L0=γL , γ=(1-(vc)2)-12#(1)
where L0 is the “proper length” of the object being studied, γ is the Lorentz factor which is a function of the object’s velocity v, and L is the observed length. Another effect of special relativity is time dilation, a phenomena where. A clock in a moving frame will be seen to be running slow or dilated. This can be seen in the equation
t'=γt# (2)
where t' is the observed increase in time relative to the “proper time” t, and γ is the same Lorentz factor in equation (1). Even though relativity may appear like a strange concept, its effects need to account for to ensure data collected will be as accurate as possible.
On the payload there will be instruments such as the Geiger counter .A Geiger counter detects ionizing radiation, which comes from various sources such as that emitted by charged particles when they accelerate, and a product of particle collisions Usually a Geiger Mueller counter is filled with a noble gas (helium, neon, or argon) and shaped like a tube with a wire running through, acting as a cathode through it: this wire is the anthode. When the Geiger counter When an ionizing radiation event occurs inside the chamber, freed electrons ionize other atoms in the tube and create an avalanche effect, and are then attracted to the anode and discharged as a current. Geiger Mueller counters are widely used due to their low production cost to produce and durability. However, they have a few limitations such as being able to detect high levels of ionizing radiation, and the inability to distinguish between the events that cause the radiation.
An additional piece of equipment that will be used to detect muons on the payload will be a scintillator detector. Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) absorb the light emitted by the scintillator, and the free electrons in the metals that make up the detector are kicked off by the photons that hit the detector, which causes a similar avalanche.. The multiplication of those electrons results in an electrical pulse, that can be measured and tell researchers about the originating particle. The mechanics and machinery of the payload are straightforward , but if researchers do not account for relativistic changes in Geiger counters and Scintillators, the results will be completely different.
Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Hermann Minkowski, and others proposed their theory of special relativity. Prior to proposing their theories, most thought that newtonian movements best described 2-D Motion. Newton’s equations still hold truth today, but only for an object moving at slow speeds. The detection of muons on the ground level prove Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity. Einstein’s theory on special relativity is based on two postulates: the laws of physics are invariant in all inertial systems, and the speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of the light source. The distances and times between pairs of events vary when measured in different inertial frames of reference. This can be seen in Lorentz Contraction length contraction equation
L0=γL , γ=(1-(vc)2)-12#(1)
where L0 is the “proper length” of the object being studied, γ is the Lorentz factor which is a function of the object’s velocity v, and L is the observed length. Another effect of special relativity is time dilation, a phenomena where. A clock in a moving frame will be seen to be running slow or dilated. This can be seen in the equation
t'=γt# (2)
where t' is the observed increase in time relative to the “proper time” t, and γ is the same Lorentz factor in equation (1). Even though relativity may appear like a strange concept, its effects need to account for to ensure data collected will be as accurate as possible.
On the payload there will be instruments such as the Geiger counter .A Geiger counter detects ionizing radiation, which comes from various sources such as that emitted by charged particles when they accelerate, and a product of particle collisions Usually a Geiger Mueller counter is filled with a noble gas (helium, neon, or argon) and shaped like a tube with a wire running through, acting as a cathode through it: this wire is the anthode. When the Geiger counter When an ionizing radiation event occurs inside the chamber, freed electrons ionize other atoms in the tube and create an avalanche effect, and are then attracted to the anode and discharged as a current. Geiger Mueller counters are widely used due to their low production cost to produce and durability. However, they have a few limitations such as being able to detect high levels of ionizing radiation, and the inability to distinguish between the events that cause the radiation.
An additional piece of equipment that will be used to detect muons on the payload will be a scintillator detector. Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) absorb the light emitted by the scintillator, and the free electrons in the metals that make up the detector are kicked off by the photons that hit the detector, which causes a similar avalanche.. The multiplication of those electrons results in an electrical pulse, that can be measured and tell researchers about the originating particle. The mechanics and machinery of the payload are straightforward , but if researchers do not account for relativistic changes in Geiger counters and Scintillators, the results will be completely different.
Hypothesis
If elevation of the muon photomultiplier-scintillator is increased, then the number of muons will increase at greater elevations. This is due to the very short lifetime of muons, there is less time for decay the higher in altitude.
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Purpose
This experiment was conducted to demonstrate the theory of special relativity. Therefore, when gathering data on fast moving particles researchers need to be aware of the relativistic shifts, so data is not skewed within the payload project.
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