Velocity Calculations

From MariachiWiki

From our graphs, we can also determine the approximate velocity of the rays!

Velocity= change in displacement/ change in time, (m/s). We know the distance between the scintillators, and we can determine the change in time from the graphs.

Change in Dsmall= 0.45 m, Change in t small= 2 x 10^-9 sec

V= D/t = 0.45/ (2 x 10^-9) = 2.3 x 10^8 m/s

Change in Dlarge= 2.76 m, Change in t large= 6 x 10^-9 sec

V= D/t = 2.76/ (6 x 10^-9) = 4.6 x 10^8 m/s

We know that the speed of light is 3 x 10^8 m/s, and since cosmic rays are very high energy particles, these approximations for velocity shouldn’t be too far off.