PHYS 575A, B, C - Autumn 2015 - Wilkes

Radiation and Detectors  

Last updated:    10/27/15
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First meeting of this class is Thursday, October 1, 2015, in room A-110.
Thereafter we meet:
Every Tuesday: 2 hrs lecture (in A-110 PAB); 
Lab Thursdays: 4 hrs lab (in B-248 - only on dates shown below; dates to be confirmed in class)

Textbook: Knoll, Glenn F., Radiation Detection and Measurement, Wiley, 4th ed., 2012 (3rd ed., 2000 is OK)
(Will also be used in PHYS 576, next term)

Readings in Knoll: read chapters in the order shown.
In some cases, the textbook goes into more detail than we need for this class; when more than 2 chapters are assigned for one class session, you should review the material covered but do not need to read carefully. (You will need to review some of these sections more carefully in PHYS 576)

week date day topic text
1 10/1/15 Thurs Introduction, review of basics, radioactivity, units for radiation and dosimetry Ch. 1, notes
2 10/6/15 Tues Radioactive sources; decay processes; Ch. 1, notes
3 10/13/15 Tues Photomultiplier tubes and scintillation counters; Counting statistics Chs. 3, 8, 9 (I-V)
3 10/15/15
 Thurs
 LAB: Room B248    Scopes, fast pulses; PMTs and scintillation counters; standard electronics modules Chs. 4, 9, 16, 17
4 10/20/15 Tues Overview of charged particle detectors
 Ch. 4
4
 10/22/15
 Thurs LAB: Room B248   Coincidence techniques; nanosec time measurement, energy from pulse area   Chs. 17, 18
5 10/27/15 Tues  Interaction of charged particles and photons with matter; counting statistics; gas detectors;
Proposal for term paper must be emailed to JW by today
 Chs. 2, 3;
Chs. 5, 6, 7
6
 11/3/15 Tues
 ionization chambers; solid-state detectors  Chs. 11, 12, 13

7 11/10/15 Tues Detecting neutral particles; Data acquisition methods Ch. 14, 15, 18
8 11/17/15 Tues Cherenkov detectors; Case studies: neutrino detectors (IceCube), atmospheric Cherenkov, triggering Cherenkov
 Ch. 19, notes
9 11/24/15 Tues Case studies: classic detectors (cloud and bubble chambers, nuclear emulsion), high energy accelerators, Fermi LAT
 Ch. 19, notes
10 12/1/15 Tues Finish case studies; begin student presentations
 Notes
11
 12/8/15
 Tues Student presentations
 -
11
 12/10/15
 Thurs
 Student presentations