Muon Lifetime

Video tour
Experiment Guide
1.  Pre-Lab
2.  Muon Lifetime
3.  Calibrating the TAC
4.  nuclear capture
5.  reference textbook
 
Related Material
1.  Melissinos (2003) Chap 3.3 3.4 8.4 9.4
2.  mu+ measurement
3.  MuLan
4.  Oscilloscope Manual
5.  PMT Review
6.  Cosmic Rays
7.  Cosmic Ray History
Manuals
1.  RCA_4522 PMT
2.  Logic Components
3.  4-FOLD Logic
4.  Model 2145 TAC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

In this experiment you will measure the muon lifetime. Muons have almost exactly the same properties as electrons except they are heavier. Muons can decay due to the mass difference between muons and electrons. Muons and electrons interact with matter only electromagnetically or by the weak nuclear force. Cosmic ray muons arise from the decay of pions which are produced by high energy collisions of incoming cosmic rays with nuclei in the atmosphere. This is the main experiment in which you will learn about particle detectors, phototubes, and fast logic electronics.