User:Arehman
From MariachiWiki
Hi, my name is Abaid Rehman. I am an Undergrad student at Stony Brook University. I am majoring in Business Management Information Technology. I am senior and really looking forward to graduate this year. I have many hobbies but my favorite are cars and in sports cricket and ping pong. I won a championship in ping pong at Farmingdale State University. I love Music. I am really interested in the study of cosmic rays because it’s something different from other subjects. Cosmic Rays have so much energy that can be used for many purposes. I am rally interesting in getting new information on Cosmic Rays. When I finish my college I want to do my MBA at NYU. My family owns an Electronics Repair Shop. We have been in business for past 25 years. When I am off from school I work at the shop.
I think its a great website. Through this you can learn many things and explore how stuff works in our world. Through this i learned about how Cosmic rays are electrically charged, high-energy particles that travel through space, and how we can all benefit from this.
09-17-07 Media:Abaid_Efficiency_data.xls
This was my first time deling with the actual equipment. I think it really grate that we have so many good equipment and resources. Efficiency Data was really interesting. We run the test for 60 secounds, and from voltege 5.000 to 6.000. It seems to me that the best voltage to run the detector I think would be between 5.500 and 5.800 volts. Because it seems to give the best results. It seems to me that at this volts the hits between the detectors were great.
09-23-07
The Trial and Error experiment.
First me and Dan tried various different arrangements of the detectors. The problem we ran into was we were changing so many different variables it was hard to compare each set of data we took, although the detection rate changed drastically each time. So we started over and came up with a way to test a single variable.We placed them on thier side, upside down, and turned the middle detector perpendicular to the top and bottom detector. We kept the detectors the same and ran them for one minute and then turned the middle detector at a 45 degree angle to the top and bottom and ran it for one minute. Finally we turned the middle detector at a 90 degree angle to the top and bottom detector. As we hypothesized the cosmic rays went down as the angle the middle detector was turned to increased.
09-30-07
The experiment that we have prepared includes a two counter setup and measure a flat rate of cosmic rays. We are going to set the detectors up in a stacked pattern and run them for set time intervals and monitor the comparison of cosmic rays reaching the detector compared to angle of the sun in the sky. Moreover, at sundown we can determine if there is any change in cosmic rays reaching Earth. We could also continue to run the detector after sunset to determine if that effects our data. Another helpful factor for this experiment is that over the next few weeks and months the sun will be setting earlier and taking a path across the sky at a lower angle.which means if we ran this for the next few weeks it should give us an idea or not if the angle of insolation effects the rate at which cosmic rays strike Earth. Also we might be able to compare the rate of cosmic rays to the duration of insolation.
09-25-07
Dan, Ted and I got the chance to take Cosmic Chris around the physics building. We already had the idea that there was going to be an increase in rays as we went up in altitude. We were testing the effect of altitude vs. the rate of cosmic rays. So we started on floor D which was the top floor and we took 3 sixty second counts and we did this for each floor all the way down to the basement. We made sure to align the detector in the same directional orientation and in the same place in comparison to the elevator. We then realized that the basement had one very important difference, there was no window. So we took the counter back up to the top floor and two others on the way down, we took the same amount of readings, except we moved into the middle of the hallway away from the window on each of the floors. We knew that if we did not see a difference in the number of counts, which we didn't, between the window and the hallway we could efficiently use our data, to compare each floor, so as we went up the floor the coincidence went high.
Our data shows a consitent rate of decrease in the rate of cosmic rays as you go down each floor. One difference from the counter is that we were only measureing a coincidence between two counters instead of three. Dima showed us some really good excel function on how we can measure stuff. I think through excel you can calcullate all your data and get a better understanding.
10-02-07
Determining the velocity of cosmic rays and to measure the rate of cosmic particles coincidences in conjunction with increasing distance between the scintillators. We expected to find that by increasing the distance between the scintilators we would observe a decrease in cosmic particle coincidence between the scintilators as there is less area of space is covered.The way we came up with to determine their velocity was by using the oscilliscope. By measuring the lag time between the peaks of the cosmic rays. We had to make sure the detectors had even lengths of wire, because by changing the length of the second detectors wire, we changed the arrival of the pulse. Once we determined the wires were the same length we began the experiment. We started with the detectors at 13" apart and moved them to 26", after that we then moved the bottom detector to 54", 80" and 104". We hypothesized that the lag time between pulses would increase as distance increases and we were infact correct. By obtaining the measurements of time and distance we created a slope on the graph. We then obtained a gentle slope and a steep slope through our error bars and we devided it in half. We then converted to meters per second and obtained a value of 2.8 x 10^8 which is very close to the speed of light. I was very amazed that how fast the rays are that they can reach that high speed.
Media:Distance_change_in_detectors.xls
10-09-07
Today me, Dan and Ted worked on identifying our distance error and placing horizontal error bars on our graph. From detector to detectorIt we identidied that particles may not have passed straight down vertically in a 90 degree angle , but may have passed through a variety of angles from the top to the bottom detector. We calculated the minimum and maximum angles by measuring the distance from the the left of the top detector to the right of the bottom detector. This gave us the maximum distance that cosmic ray particles may have passed through the detectors. We then did the same with the other side. The distance was measured by using the pythagorean theory since we knew the distance of detector seperation and we knew the dimensions of both detector panels. The minimum and maximum distance was determined by calculating the hypotenuse using the pythagorean theory. The first observation we made was that as the detectors moved further apart the longest possible distance a cosmic ray could travel got closer to the shortest possible path due to the geometry of the detector placement. When the error bars were placed on the graph they revealed that our error was greater than previously thought. The next course of action to be taken by our team is to take different lenghts of wire and determine the speed of the cosmic particle as the signal travels through the wire. This will give us less error because now we are fixing the distance, so there won't be any error on the x axis.
Media:Pulse_time_vs_dist_revised.xls
10-16-07
The very highest energy cosmic rays are of particular interest for various reasons. They may provide a useful tool for finding the origin of cosmic rays because they are deflected very little by the galactic and magnetic fields that permeate space. Therefore the direction in which they are travelling when they arrive at Earth should point back to the area of space were they came from.
During todays class we calculated the speed the pulse travels through the coaxial wire. We put the detectors at zero distance away from each other and we connected them to the osciloscope using different length wires. The length of the wires used were 15 1/8inches, 39 inches, 48 inches, 62 inches, 68 inches, and 121 inches. The pulse time difference was visualized a lateral shift between the 2 pulse signals on the osciloscope. What was immediately noticed was that as the signal cable increased so did the time delay difference between the two pulses. Three measurements were taken and the average calculated. From this data we calculated the speed of the signal through the cable wire and determined it to be 1.921x10^8 which 65% the speed of light. This is a very clode to the manufacturers specifications which is 65.9% the speed of light.
Media:Cosmic ray velocity 10-16.xls
10-23-07
Today we try to determined the speed of the pulse through the coaxial cable created by the cosmic ray. Simulare to what we did last class. We obtained 6 different lengths of RG58 cable 15 1/8", 39", 48", 62", 68" and 121". We then started up the oscilloscope and took three readings with similar length cables. At each length of wire we took three readings as well. We observed the pulse of the detector with the increasing cable length coming later and later with each increase. When we recorded our results we took the average for each length of cable and plotted it on the above speed through the cable graph. Cable specs The cable specs link shows the specs of the RG 58 coax cable we used. We determined the speed to be about 65% that of light and according to the link the actual is 65.9% so we were off by about .9%. I think it was preaty good observation.
The following were the 6 steps that Determining error of velocity calculation
1. Took 40 readings with same length cables
2. Put data into excel
3. Broke data into 1 second bins
4. Placed onto histogram
5. Determined average of the time in ns (all 40 counts)
6. Determined the standard deviation
Media:Histogram_with_error.xls
10-30-07
The highest energy cosmic ray ever detected
In 1993 the "Fly's Eye" experiment in Utah detected a cosmic ray with an energy of 3x1020 eV. So far this is the highest energy particle ever detected. This particle had a kinetic energy similar to that carried by a tennis ball travelling at 180 mph! Cosmic Rays are 1014 times smaller than tennis balls so the energy is packed into an incredibly small volume.
Me, Ted and Dan was gathering more data to try and make our errors smaller. We decided to take 575 counts using the "elev" program, which electronically records the difference in pulse time and the difference in pulse intensity. We took 575 so that we would have atleast 500 useable counts. Once we gather the data we used the data converter to make the data readable by excel, which we then pasted the data into excel. We then used the pulse heights to eliminate any inconsistencies or negative pusle heights. Then we made a histogram of the difference between pulses arrival times. It was similar to what we did last lime just tis time we aded more counts.
11-13-07
Me and Dan had a idea of taking Cosmic Chris between the Physics and Math building. Because there is a bridge that connects them togather we wanted to find out how this will effect the rate of cosmic rays. Our hypothesis was, as we moved further from the bridge the rate would increase. We were also curious to see how far away we would have to get to see no change in the rate. We started directly under the bridge and moved 8.5 meters each time till we were 34 meters away from our starting spot. As the graph shows, as we moved from under the bridge the rate of cosmic rays increases. We stopped at 34 meters because from 25.5 meters to 34 meters there was only a slight increase in the rate. We stopped because of time. In next class we will go more father till the rate doesn’t changes. We are already very close, but we might need one or tow more readings.
Distance from under the bridge graph
11-27-07
Previous class we took measurements at two more distances from the math to physics bridge. With these two measurements at 42.5 meters and 51 meters, it appeared that are rate of cosmic rays leveled out. Although it probably would still have an effect on the rate, because it would still be effecting the lower angle cosmic rays. We just moved into an area where there was nothing from the building effecting the higer angle rays. The reason it did not seem to effect the data that much would be due to the fact that a higher percentage of cosmic rays are coming from higher angles.
Distance from under the bridge, updated graph
After the completion of the last two data points that we have taken for our brige experiment, wecame to our dicision of doing a similar experiment starting from the entrance way to the library, which includes a roof over it, the only thing is that it is surrounded by three walls. We started from underneath and moved out 10 feet each time. At each spot we took three 60 second counts. After we graphed the information we noticed that being surrounded by three walls lowered the starting count about 10 percent, but eventually the count climbed up to a similar rate as the bridge experiment.
Distance from library cove graph
12-04-07
Last class we decided to do new experiment. We decided to take data in the library atrium to construct a topographic map of cosmic ray rates. We started from the far end of the library just before the atrium and under four stories worth of material. We took three 60 second readings at each of the five spots. When we went to spots 2 and 3, which were underneath the atrium we noticed about a 20 percent increase in the rate. From spot 3 to 4 and 5 we noticed about a 10 percent decrease per spot, due to a large 2 story cement stair case. At spot 5 which was the entrance way to the library the rate was back to the same as our start point.
We started in the back of the atrium and walked to the front of the library, out the door to one hundred feet away from the building. The most interesting part of the data is that even something like a glass roof inside the atrium is enough to affect the rate of cosmic rays. Although, to understand how much the atrium truly affects cosmic rays, we would have to determine the rate at different angles and determine the percent that is coming in at an angle, which puts it through the library walls and not through the roof. Overall our data matches our hypothesis. The more overhead material you have above you or around you the lower the counts and the furthest from any obstacles you get the highest counts.
Atrium X-ray & Outside data combo
