Answer #268

The answer is (c): the count rate will be about the same with Clay or no Clay, as seen in an mpeg video by clicking your mouse on the photograph below.

Cosmic ray muons interact so weakly with matter that they will pass through a considerable thickness of lead before they are all gone. This is why experiments that must be shielded from cosmic rays must be done deep within the earth, or in rooms with an extraordinary amount of absorbing material.


Archive 14

Question of the Week

Outreach Index Page

Lecture-Demonstration Home Page

For questions and comments regarding the Question of the Week contact
Dr. Richard E. Berg by e-mail or using phone number or regular mail address
given on the Lecture-Demonstration Home Page.