Variation of the track length along the particle trajectory through CR-39 stack sheets

Abstract

An alpha track was selected through a number of successive CR-39 sheets in a high energy nuclear reaction experiment. The experiment was aimed at identifying particles emitted at an angle of 25° to the beam direction when bombarding a copper disk with relativistic fluorine ions. Most of these particles were identified as protons and alpha particles. The experiment showed that the inlet energy of an alpha particle to be detectable in CR-39 plastic is 53.4 MeV per nucleon. The CR-39 range of such particles is ∼2 cm long. The corresponding range for a proton is ∼1 mm long. The track diameter at positions on the track length can display the damage as a function of the depth in the CR-39 material. In addition, the track length is measured along the particle trajectories in CR-39 sheets for a single track as a function of residual range in the CR-39 material. The restricted energy loss (REL) for alpha tracks in CR-39 is calculated using the Henke–Benton computer program. Comparison between the REL and the damage was available along this track, especially owing to the ability of CR-39 to prevail etched tracks.