NSCL Cosmic Ray Experiment
Originally a Word Document, PDF form: cosmic_directions.pdf
How the CRD Works | Operating the CRD | Experiment | Analysis
Operating the Cosmic Ray Detector
- Plug it in! You may need an extension cord. It should turn on immediately.
- There are four switches that you will be using.
- Switch A, as shown in the diagram, controls the buzzer – whether or not the machine beeps every time it counts a ray.
- Switch B controls what events the detector will report as a count. Do you want rays that hit the top scintillator, the bottom scintillator, or coincidence (both scintillators)?
- Switch C controls the count mode. Do you want it to just keep counting without stopping (infinite), to count for one minute and then shut off (timed count), or stop counting while still displaying the current count (hold count)?
- Switch D clears the count. Most of the time, D will be positioned on “count,” which lets the detector work, but sometimes you will turn the switch to clear and reset the count.
Figure 2 Controls of the cosmic ray detector




