Nuclear & Particle Physics
6 terms
Scintillation Counter
Nuclear & Particle Physics
Pulse Counts / Energy Spectra
A radiation detection instrument that measures ionizing radiation by detecting flashes of light (scintillations) produced in a luminescent material using a photomultiplier tube.
Ionizing Radiation → Scintillation Photons → Photoelectrons
Spark Chamber
Nuclear & Particle Physics
Visual Spark Tracks
A historic particle detector consisting of parallel metal plates filled with noble gas where high-voltage electrical sparks form along ionized particle tracks.
High Voltage Spark Discharge along Ionized Tracks
Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking
Nuclear & Particle Physics
Energy VEV (GeV)
A physics phenomenon where the underlying mathematical equations of a system possess symmetry, but the ground state (vacuum) drops into a non-symmetric state.
Vacuum Expectation Value ⟨0|φ|0⟩ = v ≠ 0
Standard Model
Nuclear & Particle Physics
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical physics framework classifying all known elementary particles and describing three fundamental forces: electromagnetism, weak force, and strong force.
SU(3)_C × SU(2)_L × U(1)_Y Gauge Symmetry
Strong Nuclear Force
Nuclear & Particle Physics
N (Newtons)
The powerful fundamental interaction that binds quarks together into hadrons and holds protons and neutrons together inside the atomic nucleus.
F_strong ≫ F_EM (Range r ≤ 1–3 fm)
Synchrotron
Nuclear & Particle Physics
GeV or TeV (Beam Energy)
A large ring-shaped particle accelerator in which guiding magnetic fields and accelerating RF electric fields increase synchronously as particles gain relativistic energy.
B(t) ∝ p(t), RF Frequency Synchronized to Beam Speed