Students will learn about the difference between the methods of neutrino detection – optical versus radio. This will then allow them to understand why the relative size of the detectors is so different. Students will also engage in a hands-on activity to understand scale through creating models of the two detectors.
When radioactive elements decay they emit high-speed particles. These can be detected by use of a cloud chamber. The cloud chamber was invented by Charles Thomson Rees Wilson in 1911. The chamber works by saturating the air inside with alcohol vapor. Cooling the chamber with dry ice supersaturates the air. The energetic particles produced by the radioactive decay ionize
The Energetic Ray Global Observatory (ERGO) is a program that will provide students and teachers with a small detector that is capable of detecting the cosmic rays in a manner very similar to CosRAY and IceCube. The unit is small and will allow data to be exported automatically to Google Maps.
Plans for the Berkeley National Laboratory cosmic ray detector. This detector can be built by high school teachers and can be used to study cosmic rays in a method similar to the antarctic particle studies (CosRAY and IceCube).
Case studies provide a brief overview or examination of events that impact or alter the way people function and live day to day within the human and physical environment. They help by providing students with “real world” examples that relate to the theoretical content they are studying.
Objective
Students will prepare a case study illustrating the impact