On the Possibility of Using a Streamer Chamber to Study Decay Processes
Abstract Generated abstract
This paper examines whether a streamer spark chamber can be used to study radioactive decay processes, particularly when multiple decay modes, short half-lives, or low induced activities make conventional observation difficult. The authors describe a test experiment in which a cobalt-60 source was placed directly inside a neon-filled glass streamer chamber and high-voltage pulses were applied to register beta-particle tracks. The experiment produced satisfactory electron tracks, including tracks corresponding to energies of 0.3 and 1.48 MeV, without causing spurious breakdowns or other operational disturbances. The results suggest that an internally loaded streamer chamber can record decay-particle tracks over nearly the full solid angle and may be suitable for investigating such decay processes.
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ON THE POSSIBILITY OF USING A STREAMER CHAMBER TO STUDY DECAY PROCESSES
I. K. ZHANKOV, V. M. KUZNETSOV, O. I. STUKOV
(Presented at the scientific seminar of the high-energy sector of the Scientific Research Institute of Nuclear Physics, Electronics, and Automation)
In a number of physical experiments it is necessary to study decays of target nuclei activated by a radiation beam, or the decays of naturally radioactive elements. This task becomes especially difficult when several types of decay are present, with short half-lives and low induced activities. In such cases, one possible way of solving the problem is to use a streamer spark chamber. From the lengths, angles, and other characteristics of the tracks of charged decay particles, one can obtain the necessary information about the process.
Fig. 1. Schematic of the setup for carrying out the experiment:
1 — glass chamber,
2 — thin glass tube with a radioactive source,
3 — chamber electrodes,
4 — source of high-voltage or pulsed voltage
Fig. 2. Photograph of electron tracks from \( \mathrm{Co}^{60} \)
We carried out experiments on the registration of tracks of \(\beta\)-particles emitted by a radioactive source \( \mathrm{Co}^{60} \), placed directly in the chamber volume. In this way the isotropy of the chamber was initially checked.
The experimental scheme is shown in Fig. 1. At the center of a glass chamber with dimensions \(36 \times 24 \times 10\ \mathrm{cm}^{3}\), a radioactive source—a cobalt wire \(0.8\ \mathrm{mm}\) in diameter and \(10\ \mathrm{mm}\) long—was fastened to a thin glass tube. The activity was about \(3\ \mathrm{mg\ equiv.\ Ra}\) (or \(1.9\ \mu\mathrm{curie}\)). The chamber was filled with neon at atmospheric pressure. At arbitrary time intervals, the electrodes of the chamber were supplied with …
voltage pulses with an amplitude of up to 200 kV and a rise time of 1.5 μsec were applied. Satisfactory tracks of electrons emerging from the source were obtained. One of the photographs is shown in Fig. 2. The tracks correspond to electrons with energies of 0.3 and 1.48 MeV.
Placing the source inside the chamber did not cause any changes in the operation of the chamber (spurious breakdowns, etc.). The isotropy of the chamber was sufficiently high and made it possible to record tracks from the decay over practically the full solid angle.