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Our Team

Samyak Mohanty, Ved Rathi, Arya Rathi, Suchir Divekar

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Our Projects

Hardware design for affordable, deployable muon detector replacing dry ice with gel-compartment.

Design and construct a lower-cost alternative to current models with focus on durability and portability.

DIY Cloud Chamber Kit

Cosmic ray Muon Detector

Video scripts, teacher guides and student worksheets aligned to Indian board curricula. Focused on developing foundational particle physics understanding

Lecture series

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Pitch Decks

Lecture Series

Cloud Chamber Kit

Administration

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Lecture Series

Establishing a particle physics lecture series for high school students.

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Addressing Gaps

Special Relativity

Explained key concepts: Lorentz Factor, Time Dilation, and Length Contraction.
Essential in understanding the arrival of muon at sea level

Conservation laws

While charge, energy, and momentum conservation laws were covered, students lacked understanding of lepton number conservation principle.

Ionizing Radiation and Track Formation

Explaining the mechanism of ionization along a particle track
Introducing the concept of supersaturated vapour and nucleation in ion pairs.

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VIDEO SNAPSHOTS

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Learning Outcomes

The scope of the project consists of Tier 1 & 2 cities in india.
The Urban-rural resource gap was factored into the

Detector kits and
Bill of materials.

Finally, the deliverables aimed to foster an understanding of basic fundamental particle physics concepts and working of detectors, cloud chambers.

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Cloud Chamber

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Typical Cloud Chamber

CLOUD CHAMBER - S'Cool LAB - DIY manual on Cloud Chamber

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Basic Components of a cloud chamber

Enclosure

Thermal Insulation

Observation Region

Control heat flow using felt cloth to improve efficiency.

Vapor Source

High-purity isopropyl alcohol (99.9%) or ethanol

Thermal Gradient System

Create a warm-top and cold-bottom environment.

Light Source

Makes tracks visible.

Safety Equipment

Makes tracks visible.

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Our Proposition

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Iterations

Why model was not feasible

Minimum Temperature was not achieved by cooling in a normal refrigerator
Maintaining and cooling of the gel pack for sufficient time was not operational

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Possible Observations in a Cloud Chamber

Alpha

Muon

Electron

Image Source:CERN S’CoolLAB & KIT (via PhysicsOpenLab)

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Cloud Chamber Analysis

Simple experiments and measurements using particle tracks.

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Track Length (Range)

Measure total track length of a particle
Compare the tracks of various particles
Alpha particles stop inside the cloud chamber, whereas most other particles do not
The energy of the alpha-particle can be estimated using the range-energy tables.

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Energy Loss

Measure track width or brightness along its length.
Alpha particles become brighter near the end of their range due to increased ionization.
Compare the ionization patterns of different particle types.

Track end much brighter than the beginning.

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Helping BBLC students with making an actual model of a Muon cloud chamber.

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Cost Breakdown for Dry ice model

COMPONENT	COSTING IN INR
Clear acrylic / glass / fish tank	₹700
Black felt or velvet cloth	₹200
Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) 99%	₹200 (for 500 ml)
LED / Torch (side illumination)	₹400
Sponge / foam strip	₹35
Rubber gloves + tongs + safety goggles	₹435
Base tray	₹470
Dry ice	₹150 (per KG)
Instruction booklet (printed)	₹10-20
Transportation and packaging	₹350-400
Total cost estimation	₹3000 (approx)

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Muon Detector Working

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COMPONENT	COSTING IN INR
Plastic scintillator tile	₹3000
Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM)	₹16,000 (₹4000 for single tile)
Optical coupling grease / wrap	₹1500
Front-end electronics / ASIC	₹5800
Arduino / Raspberry Pi	₹1500
Power supply (battery or USB)	₹950
Enclosure / housing	₹2800
Total cost estimation	₹32,000 (approx)

Cost Breakdown for the Detector

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Photodetector Choice

Our Choice: SiPM over PMT
SiPMs (Silicon Photomultipliers) are strongly preferred for portable detectors.
They operate at 25–70 V (vs. ~1000 V for PMTs)
They are compact, robust.
More Cost Effective

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Visiting detector labs at CERN

CERN uses SiPMs and PMTs across multiple experiments, including the LHCb SciFi tracker and detectors in proposed future colliders , but these devices are generally manufactured by specialized external suppliers such as Hamamatsu, SensL, and EXCELITAS rather than in CERN’s GEM laboratory.

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