Cosmic Muon Detector Using Proportional Chambers

A set of classical multi-wire proportional chambers were designed and constructed with the main purpose of efficient cosmic muon detection. These detectors are relatively simple to construct, and at the same time are low cost, making them ideal for educational purposes. The detector layers have efficiencies above 99% for minimum ionizing cosmic muons, and their position resolution is about 1 cm, that is, particle trajectories are clearly observable. Visualization of straight tracks is possible using an LED array, with the discriminated and latched signal driving the display. Due to the exceptional operating stability of the chambers, the design can also be used for cosmic muon telescopes.
Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to the European Journal of Physics