An easily constructed apparatus, of simple design, for measuring the Rutherford scattering of alpha particles by thin metal foils is described. An evacuated metal cylinder houses a movable system containing the alpha-particle emitter, a small 0.1 mC welded-foil source, and, at a fixed distance from this source, an annular ring of scattering material. The face of a type 5819 photomultiplier serves to seal the end of the vacuum chamber, and has at its center the detector, a small circular spot of scintillator. The source, scatterer, and detector are coaxial. The scattering angle may be varied between 28° and 71° by changing the distance from the scattering annulus to the detector, with a resultant change in the counting rate from about 30/min to 4/min. Range and intensity measurements on the source are easily made. If common sense precautions are taken, no radiation hazards will be encountered.
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June 1961
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June 01 1961
Apparatus Drawings Project. Report Number 16. Apparatus for Measuring the Rutherford Scattering of Alpha Particles by Thin Metal Foils: Developed by the Sophomore Physics Laboratories of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert G. Marcley
Robert G. Marcley
American Institute of Physics, New York, New York
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Am. J. Phys. 29, 349–354 (1961)
Article history
Received:
January 11 1961
Citation
Robert G. Marcley; Apparatus Drawings Project. Report Number 16. Apparatus for Measuring the Rutherford Scattering of Alpha Particles by Thin Metal Foils: Developed by the Sophomore Physics Laboratories of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Am. J. Phys. 1 June 1961; 29 (6): 349–354. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1937785
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