28th Annual Student Research Conference
Detector Design and Construction for Homeland Security
Lauren R. Liegey
Dr. Alan Hunt (Idaho State University) and Dr. Vayujeet Gokhale, Faculty Mentors
We built and modified sodium iodide (NaI) detector arrays by adding shielding and special signal amplifiers in order to test the following objectives. The first objective of this experiment was to show that a strong correlation exists between the barometric pressure and the total count rate of both gamma and neutron radiation. This knowledge will help prevent false positive and false negative errors in detection. The second objective was to test a method of detecting fissionable materials with a specific irradiation/detection system at substantial distances. This result could be used to detect dangerous or hidden materials without needing to directly access the materials, but stay at a distance that reduces the risk of exposure to the material.
Keywords: detectors, barometric pressure, background radiation, fissionable materials, particle accelerator
Topic(s):Physics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 414-4
Location: MG 1096
Time: 3:15