Replies: 1 comment 3 replies
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Hi Sean
I think your biggest problems would be the low arrival rate of beta+ and
distinguishing it from the beta- signal.
I used about 30g of KCl with my detector and got beta- rates of around
1,000 per hour. The beta+ rate is lower by a factor of 89,000 so that
equates to about 0.25 per day, and that would be indistinguishable from the
statistical noise level of about 150 in same interval for beta-
Nice idea though. Maybe schools can get access to some low-level positron
sources on educational grounds?
Regards
Steve
…On Thu, 2 Nov 2023 at 09:12, seanboyce ***@***.***> wrote:
I've put together a couple of your detectors and the design works
wonderfully (I'll share some photos soon). I'm trying to think up some
interesting experiments for a STEM program.
I've noticed that K-40 has an uncommon (0.001%) decay mode that emits a
positron, in addition to the more common beta decay (89%) and electron
capture (11%).
I think it would be neat if I could differentiate the β− and the β+, but
it looks like the β+ is only around ~44keV. Would that even be likely to
reach the diode at all (through the plastic covering) and generate a
signal? Would the signal look any different, given the continuous
distribution of β− energies in the more common decay mode?
I'm a bit new to particle physics, I couldn't find an obvious answer after
some research. My best guess so far though is I'd need to design a SiPM
based detector with a scintillator to measure the gamma ray energy from the
positron annihilation (and wait a long time). Is that approximately
correct, or is there an easier way I missed?
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I've put together a couple of your detectors and the design works wonderfully (I'll share some photos soon). I'm trying to think up some interesting experiments for a STEM program.
I've noticed that K-40 has an uncommon (0.001%) decay mode that emits a positron, in addition to the more common beta decay (89%) and electron capture (11%).
I think it would be neat if I could differentiate the β− and the β+, but it looks like the β+ is only around ~44keV. Would that even be likely to reach the diode at all (through the plastic covering) and generate a signal? Would the signal look any different, given the continuous distribution of β− energies in the more common decay mode?
I'm a bit new to particle physics, I couldn't find an obvious answer after some research. My best guess so far though is I'd need to design a SiPM based detector with a scintillator to measure the gamma ray energy from the positron annihilation (and wait a long time). Is that approximately correct, or is there an easier way I missed?
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