Development of Software to Control and Analyze a Tabletop Nuclear Physics System

Different tools have been developed by physicists to detect particle interactions, including one tool called a cloud chamber. A cloud chamber is a device that uses a supersaturated alcohol vapor to outline the paths of subatomic particles. It requires an adequate source of radiation, either background radiation or a radioactive element, that is placed inside the chamber and allowed to decay. The particles emitted from the decaying element form tracks, as a result of the condensation of the supersaturated alcohol. This condensation ionizes the particles as they are being emitted, which creates the visible track. In order to produce curved tracks, which are necessary for data analysis, a suitable magnetic field must also be applied to the moving particles. As these particles come into contact with the magnetic field, their tracks curve, allowing for measurements of the radius of curvature for each track to be deduced. The radius of curvature can then be used to determine the identity of the atomic nucleus that the emitted particle came from. Computer programming can be applied to this process to make it faster and more efficient. This thesis project involved the composition of a software that could control a cloud chamber apparatus set up to view the beta decay of Pb-210 and analyze the tracks produced by emitted electrons to determine their radius of curvature. By the completion of this project, a software was developed that could accurately detect tracks from test images and control several parts of a cloud chamber.