Down-to-Earth Fiber Technology Yields Insight into Cosmic Rays
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Down-to-Earth Fiber Technology Yields Insight into
Cosmic Rays
September 3, 1996: Fiber optics have become a regular part of 20th
century communication, as familiar to us today as the telegraph
wire was a generation before. However the use of fiber optic material
goes far beyond its implementation as part of our telephone network.
This September, Space Sciences Laboratory scientists will fly
a scientific experiment on a high-altitude balloon, like the one
pictured below, using fiber optic material to study cosmic rays
from space.
Cosmic rays are extremely energetic subatomic
particles and atomic nuclei that travel nearly at the speed of
light. They continually bombard the earth and permeate all of
outer space. Because cosmic rays are so energetic, they can be
difficult to detect and analyze, and are best studied from vantage
points high above the earth's atmosphere or from space. Traditional
cosmic ray detectors, like using a large catcher's mitt to catch
a 100 mph fastball, have been large, bulky, and massive. However,
the rockets and balloons required to take these detectors to high
altitudes and to space have both severe weight and size restrictions.
The Scintillating Optical Fiber Calorimeter (SOFCAL) uses fiber
optic technology to allow scientists to measure energies and compositions
of cosmic rays. The detector consists of ten pairs of 1/2 millimeter-square
optical fibers, arranged in an x-y grid formation. When a cosmic
ray interacts with the fibers onboard the experiment, they scintillate,
or give off pulses of light. This light can then be collected
and analyzed to learn about the cosmic ray that produced the light.
On this flight, which will begin from Ft. Sumner, New Mexico,
scientists will be interested in cosmic rays that come in the
form of both protons and helium nuclei. By investigating these
particular components of the cosmic ray spectrum, scientists hope
to gain greater insight into both the origins of cosmic rays and
the mechanism that accelerates these particles to speeds approaching
the speed of light.
For more information on SOFCAL, please contact
Mark J. Christl
NASA/MSFC ES-84
Huntsville, Alabama 35812
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HeadlinesAuthor: Mark
Christl
Curator: Bryan Walls
NASA Official: John M. Horack
Fiber Optic image used courtesy of Chi
Tham, of California State University at Fullerton.
Balloon photo courtesy of Dr. Thomas Parnell/NASA Marshall.