a study of energy loss of charged particles in matter

INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION

RESULTS
1 "energy-distance.dat" using 3:8 Count rate vs effective distance

This experiment aims to study the change in the range of alpha particle trajectories as a result of energy loss. Charged particles with significant mass (such as Alpha decay particles) lose energy while traversing through matter; the loss of energy comes primarily from ionizing air molecules along the way. But how much energy is lost, exactly? Alpha particles and their associated energies are a heavily studied area in sciences. Nuclear Physics makes heavy use of various particle accelerators that use and produce alpha particles; alpha particles make up about 10% of cosmic radiation as studied by Astronomers; and of course, radiotherapy (more specifically, unsealed source radiotherapy) is a leading area of research in the bid to find a cure for cancer. Smoke detectors, for example, operate on alpha decay emissions between a source and a lead to produce continuous current that, when weakened, triggers the alarm.

2.5 negative derivative

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Count rate

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ALPHA PARTICLES

EQUATIONS AND METHODS

0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 Effective distance (cm) 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2

0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 Effective distance (cm) 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2

Alpha particles are the decay products of radioactive elements and are physically identical to Helium nuclei.

Shown on the left is a plot of the particle count (from the detector) as a function of effective distance. The effective distance is a function of chamber pressure (see Equations and Methods). Using matlab, the derivative function of the cubic spline interpolation was generated (figure on the right) which shows the Gaussian distribution of particle count over the effective distance.
In short, the goal is to find the mean range, R, and the range straggling parameter, of alpha particles. is the half width of the range distribution at 1/e of maximum (see bottom left graph). Data Acquisition: Particle count distributions are measured at varying chamber pressures - the particle distribution moves towards the higher energy spectrum as air pressure is decreased (see above). The overall net count of particles also increases. Plot the acquired data: Total particle net count as a function of effective distance, d. This d is also, in turn, a function of chamber pressure (and d0 =distance between the detector and sample) Fit a curve using cubic splines using matlab (figure 1) and extrapolate its derivative curve as well to get the Gaussian distribution (figure 2) . From the fit data, we can obtain various information and constants about alpha particle trajectories.

R, the mean alpha particle range, was extracted from the Gaussian distribution - around 1.4501 cm. The range straggling parameter, , was found to be 0.2399.

ERROR AND COMPLICATIONS

Towards the end of the data acquisition period, the Pulse Height Analyser was replaced by an older model due to a malfunction. Ideally, more data should have been taken in the range near atmospheric pressure (a total of 12 trials were done). Because data was sparse critical range of the n/n0 function, curve fitting parameters have doubtful accuracy and error margins (especially for ). The method of fitting a curve by cubic splines also increases the error margins but was the only way to get any close fit using a differentiable function. It is safe to say that the figures are accurage on half a order of magnitude accuracy or so; MATLAB giving a least squares value of 0.997 for the Gaussian fit.

They are typically emitted at energies between 3 ~ 7 MeV, dependent on the half-life and size of the parent nuclei; this gives them a speed of roughly at 5% the speed of light. Because of their (relatively) large mass and charge (2+), alphas typically have a range of a few cm before being stopped/absorbed.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

CONCLUSION

Alpha particle trajectories were indeed confirmed to decrease with air pressure; the relationship between air pressure and detected particle energy (equivalent) are almost linear (bottom figure). The mean range for this particular sample was found to be 1.45 cm in air (with reasonable accuracy). The constant , range straggling parameter, was extrapolated to be around 0.24, with a higher degree of uncertainty.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This poster presentation was done in part of a ENPH 352 laboratory. Many thanks are extended towards Dr David J. Jones, Dr Carl Michal, and the ever helpful TAs, Will Gunton and Martin Bitter.

Particle energy as a function of chamber pressure 1.1 "energy-distance.dat" using 2:5 1

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The sealed chamber is connected to a rotary pump that pumps all air out, creating a new vacuum. Pressure inside can be varied using the air valves to let some air back inside. The pressure transducer converts pressure within the chamber to a voltage reading (more accurate than the analog mmHg scale attached to the setup), which is displayed in the DMM The signal from the detector is subjected to a Bias Voltage before being amplified and sent to the Pulse Height Analyzer (both oscilloscope and hardware, not pictured) before finally being transferred to the PC.

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Particle energies

REFERENCES
SCIENTIFIC DAILY (particle accelerator photo taken), 10/01/2012. http://www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2008/01/080131161812.htm

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