Assignment3SP08

From MariachiWiki

Despite the bad weather we had class last night. You can find my notes for a introduction to error analysis on the wiki. It is something we will need to incorpoarte into our measurements from now on so that we can understand how meaningful the results are.
We then launched into a discussion of possible things that might be measurable using the detectors and how the measured rates might depend on the relative orientation of several counters. The three groups that were there started measurements
1) How does the measured rate through 2 counters depend on the angle with respect to the vertical (using the octagon setup)
2) How does the rate depend on the overlap of three counters as the middle is displaced (this group should be able to extract the rate per unit area)
3) What is the accidental counting rate between 2 counters done by looking at coincidences with one counter's signal delayed by long lengths of cable.
I am looking forward to seeing the results posted and we can discuss and/or continue the effort next week.
For your amusement check out the YouTube video "The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays, Part 2 " modeled on an old Frank Capra movie. It is surprisingly accurate and probably more fun than watching me!