MainPage:Nuclear:Summer2013
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| Project | Students | Project status |
|---|---|---|
| Aerogel Characterization | x | |
| y | ||
| PMT Signal Amplifier | x | |
| y | ||
| Radiation Effects in Plants | x | |
| y | ||
| Aerogel Refractive Index Uniformity over Single Tile | Bijay Nepal | |
| Joel | ||
| Data Analysis - Elastic e- Scattering | Marco Carmignotto | |
| Jullianna Couto | ||
| Nathaniel | ||
| PMT photocathode uniformity - scan device | ||
| Aerogel as a new type of detector - dE/dx | ||
| Cosmic ray energy spectra | ||
| Kaon Aerogel Detector Prototype |
Elastic electron scattering data analysis
Ideas for summer students
This is a page under development now, being prepared by CUA Nuclear Physics Group in order to start thinking in ideas of projects for summer students. Please feel free to update it!
Perhaps some of the projects are not for completely suitable for summer students, but we can have part of them to the student.
Effects of humidity on aerogel refractive index
One of our concerns for the long term use of aerogel, in the Kaon Aerogel Detector, is how the aerogel will behave. We know from papers that it is manufactured by drying silica gel. So, in principle, the tiles can absorb water again and change their densities. As their densities are directly related to their refractive indexes, it is important to understand any change we may find.
The tiles we have are coated by an hydrophobic thin layer of material, so we have a protection on them already. And the trays of the detector will be rightly stored. But studying the water absorption and its effects on the aerogel properties would be an interesting way of understanding better our detector.
The first idea would be to construct an isolated box to have one aerogel tile submitted for a long time into high humidity. From time to time, we would measure the mass and refractive index of the tile to see any change on its properties.
What we would need to buy (and a first look in options with prices):
- Humidifier
- HomeDepot simpler Warm Steam Vaporizer - U$25
- HomeDepot with little of control - U$40
- McMaster 3 Gallon - U$63
- Humidifier controller
- McMaster HVAC Service - U$27 - is that what we need???
- Plastic box to create the controlled environment
- Tubes
2GHz Pre-amplifier for 1/2in PMT signal conditioning
Aerogel refractive index uniformity over single tile
PMT photocathode uniformity - scan device
Cosmic ray energy spectra
Continuing Nathaniel's project...
Kaon Aerogel Detector Prototype
- Can we get a wavelength shifter to test?
- Effects of Mylar covering the aerogel
Radiation effects in single plants
Aerogel as a new type of detector - dE/dx
- We would need to coat the tile with a conductor, for instance, gold. Can we put one tile in a vacuum chamber without changing its properties? Is there a problem of damaging the vacuum pump with eventual aerogel powder?