WORKSHOP INFORMATION PAGE
Participants will receive 12 hours of Talented and Gifted credit hours through the State of Texas. Participants may register for 6 credits from Aurora University for a small additional fee. Optional graduate credit is offered through Aurora University, Aurora, Illinois with whom Fermilab has an ongoing agreement. The current cost is $50 per credit hour. The 8-week appointment is offered through the TRAC program which carries 4.5 credit hours. The Year-2 institutes carry 6 credit hours. Teachers have to pay for the credit. Participants may register for 3 credits from SMU for their standard fee
Design and Construction: 6 hours
Test Runs: 5 hours
The objectives of this experiment includes designing and
creating a simple Linear Accelerator Model that can be tested and run safely
for low cost in a laboratory environment. Using PVC pipe, Plexiglas, wood,
a trigger mechanism, and a form of propulsion, both student and teacher
scientist are able to physically construct an accelerator. While the velocity
of particles traveling through the beam pipes in no way even come close
to actual velocities achieved at CERN or FERMILAB, this experiment allow
those to see from a much larger perspective how a proton collision may
appear if one were inside a beam pipe.
Once your version of this LINAC is constructed and the
proton is fired through the chamber, a series of measurements are obtained
using the latest version of the Venier LabPro and associated probes. Measurements
of velocity, force, acceleration, mass and momentum can be collected after
each introduction of a proton into the beam pipe.
You will design and build a Linear Accelerator from the
following materials and perform test runs to obtain each variable listed
above. Three sizes of beam pipes, different sized particles and varying
amounts of thrust will be used to see what effect, if any, changes the
velocity, force, acceleration or momentum of each particle. All information
obtained will be recorded and graphed in Microsoft Excel and in Venier's
Graphical Analysis software package.
At the experiments conclusion not only you, but your
students will have a basic understanding of what a LINAC is and how they
work. In addition to the excitement of hands-on building and firing protons,
both students and teachers are able to master some of Venier's most basic
probes both on intermediate and advanced levels.
Build a Cosmic Ray Telescope.
They have produced a simple cosmic ray detector that
can be built by high school teachers. This detector can be used to measure
the rate, energy and direction of cosmic rays. It can also measure how
cosmic rays vary with elevation. In addition, it is a valuable tool to
teach elementary measurement statistics. This unit is part of Berkeley
Lab's ABC of Nuclear Science online science unit.
See above
This project allows learners to access Monte Carlo particle
physics data. The data represent calorimetry (energy) and tracking (momentum)
information for decay products from interactions in an electron positron
collider. We also provide test-beam data so that one can understand detector
response prior to reducing the data. Learners can apply conservation of
momentum and energy to data and determine the mass of a particle that the
machine did not directly observe.
A cloud chamber is a device that makes visible the paths of particles emitted as a result of radioactive decay. Pictured here is Wilson expansion type chamber. A very simplified version can easily be constructed. The trick is in finding a relatively safe radioactive sample. Some (not all) old luminous watch and clock hands will work, as will some luminous paints. Trial and error will determine which ones work. Surprisingly, some older glassware (true cobalt blue) and ceramics glazes are slightly radioactive. It is also rumored that a popular brand of mantles for gas camper's lanterns are slightly radioactive (a Thorium isotope). And a reader points out that some smoke detectors contain a small sample of radioactive americium (strip a broken one, not the good one, okay kids?) Americium is actually fairly dangerous to handle, so I don't recommend doing this unless you really know how to handle radioactive materials safely. At the very least you should wear rubber gloves when doing this. Remember that radioactive samples should be handled carefully, and prolonged exposure to even low levels of radiation can be dangerous.
You've all seen the trails made by alpha and beta particles in cloud chambers. We're attempting to expand this activity by bending the trails in a magnetic field. This is a simulation of the inner section of detectors at Fermilab and CERN. It should tie in with HEP discussions and increase understanding where you normally use a cloud chamber.
Fred,
During my cloud chamber investigation I found a source for radioactive
sources. Carmen Jones donated two sources for our investigation because
the two I had purchased from Flinn were inappropriate for the investigation.
I was hoping you would include it on the web site as a part of the
resources for the project.
Tennelec, Inc.
A Camberra Company
107 Union Valley Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
865-220-6333
Fax 865-483-0406
Thank you,
Larry
The main purpose of OnScreen Particle Physics is to show
how it is possible to learn things about the subatomic, Quantum world
by making classical measurements, using our knowledge of the way
charged particles are deflected by a magnetic field, and applying
energy and momentum conservation. With OnScreen Particle Physics
you can gain experience in the procedures and reasoning used by real
particle physicists analyzing high energy experimental data. We will
give you the opportunity to try out this program in our lab as you
may want to purchase this program for your school.
