This is another short clip of a cosmic ray detector on display at Science Alive!. It is interesting the see the same phenomena in so very different a medium: here, electons in scintillating material are excited by passing cosmic rays, and then fall back down to lower energy states, emitting photons. Those photons are drawn through a series of photomultiplying tubes in the kind of image intensifier used in night vision rifle scopes. As the cosmic rays travel through the scintillating target, they leave a trail of emitted photons in their wake, which once intensified we can see across the detector screen. Four of these events occur plainly within this 11 second video.
Feb 09