Muons for radioactive material detection

2003/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Fisika

Muon beams from the universe are more penetrating than x-rays. These particles, for example, provide energy from enough space to traverse 10-centimeter lead plates. This capability could be used to detect lead-protected elements. Among these elements, physicists propose uranium and other radioactive materials, which they have already tested with fragments of tungsten.

The muons could be replaced by Geiger and X-ray meters, and in addition, arriving on Earth naturally, no source problems will be generated. However, detectors must conform to the frequency and intensity of nature's muon beams. In any case, the idea is innovative, since they are simple detectors.