Particle Camera MX-10 in Physics Education

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the use of the particle camera MX-10 in various radiation environments, showing its educational value and ability to analyze particle types, directions, and dose rates in real-world settings.

Contribution

It introduces practical applications of the particle camera MX-10 in diverse environments, highlighting its effectiveness for physics education and student-led research.

Findings

Different radiation environments produce distinct particle patterns.

The device can detect and analyze cosmic muons, alpha particles, and ionizing tracks.

High school students successfully used the camera for scientific investigations.

Abstract

We present several applications of the particle camera MX-10 in different radiation environments, leading to strikingly different observed patterns and consequently particle composition as well as recorded dose. We describe the measurements of the radiation background, cosmic muons direction analysis and the detection of alpha particles in a natural cave. We focus on the analysis of tracks of highly ionizing particles aboard an airplane and compute the dose rate with altitude. We also comment briefly on a test in beams of particles at an accelerator. We discuss the problem of presenting sensitive results on radiation background levels in various environments to general public. Most of the experiments presented here were performed and analyzed by high-school students, confirming the application of the device not only for class-room demonstrations but also for science projects in physics and IT.