High Altitude Muon Detection and Improving Detection Methods
Various possible arrangements and geometries of Geiger-Müller counters (GM tubes) to maximize probability of positive detection of muons in the atmosphere are investigated. A payload containing two GM tubes and a scintillation detector is constructed and delivered to high altitudes in Earth’s atmosphere via a weather balloon in an effort to detect muons. Due to the fact that GM tubes detect all forms of ionizing radiation, certain arrangements of detector devices allow for the use of a coincidence circuit, which reduces the uncertainty associated with detection of any event other than a muon. Cylindrical geometry for the GM tube is shown to be the maximally efficient shape for data collection, and it is theoretically demonstrated that both pentagonal and rectangular arrangements of the detectors lead to greater collection data.