Loan Kit
A free loan kit is available for schools/colleges to use in Key Stage 4 and 5 physics lessons (GCSE and A-level or equivalent) for up to a term. Each item of the kit is accompanied by online resources including video content and activities, as well as instructions for use.
Cloud Chamber
Cloud chamber in operation, showing the streaks from a source of Pb-210.
The cloud chamber can be used to view high energy alpha particles, lower energy beta particles, and electrons produced by gamma rays interacting with gas molecules. As you look into a cloud chamber, you see the tracks of electrically charged particles as they pass through the chamber.
Many substances are radioactive and emit these charged particles that travel through the air until they are absorbed. A cloud chamber is a good way to show this radiation, as well as the radiation that is present in our environment (background radiation).
Nuclear Detectors
Kromek Detector
The D3S Kromek Detector is a radioisotope detection device for gamma decay identification and neutron emission detection.
The loan kit contains a laptop with the K-Spect Software installed. You can connect the Kromek detector to this laptop to see the gamma ray energy spectrum of a radioactive source, as well as the neutron emission count. This allows different radioisotopes to be identified.
We can see the Kromek Detector on the right with the laptop connected showing a gamma spectrum for a sample of lo-salt.
Laptop connected to the D3S Kromek Detector.
Geiger Counter with rock mineral sample.
Geiger Counter
The Geiger Counter will detect and measure ionising radiation with audible clicks for each ionising event detected.
We can see the Geiger Counter on the left displaying the counts coming from the mineral rock sample.
Radioactive Samples
We will also provide you with two natural occurring radioactive samples in the loan kit, (both are low levels of radiation):
Lo-salt: This is a salt with 66% less sodium than usual, where the sodium has been replaced with potassium. 0.01% of potassium in nature is potassium-40, which is radioactive. This won't be picked up by the Geiger counter, but will produce a spectrum with the Kromek detector.
Rock Mineral Sample: The kit will contain a low-level radioactive rock sample that has been set in resin. This can be detected by the Geiger Counter, as well as producing a characteristic gamma ray spectrum with the Kromek detector.
Radioactive Samples - Lo-Salt, and Rock Mineral Sample in resin.
Lego Nuclear Chart
The loan kit contains a large bag of over 2,500 pieces of Lego, and one square plate. You can use these Lego bricks to construct a model of the first ten elements of the nuclide chart.
When built, the Lego chart is a base of 40 x 40 cm and a height of 80 cm. This model is a 3D representation of the stability of the known isotopes of the first ten elements of the periodic table.
The different colours of the Lego bricks and towers represents the decay mode of the isotope, and the height represents the mass excess per nucleon of the isotope, relative to that of iron-56.
Scatterer
The loan kit contains the 3D printed parts to construct a simplified model of a particle scatterer.
This can be used to visualise many famous experiments, such as Rutherford's Gold Leaf Experiment. Rather than firing beams of high-energy particles at a target, we can release ball bearings to impact stationary targets of different shapes and sizes. This gives us insight on the internal structure of a nucleus.
All the parts for the 3D-printed model scatterer.
Exploring Half-lives Activities
Activities relating to the Hot CNO Cycle.
Hot CNO Cycle
The kit contains a wallet with activities relating to the Hot CNO Cycle.
The Hot CNO cycle is a sequence of reactions that provides most of the energy radiated by stars that are hotter than our Sun. It is one of the two known sets of fusion reactions within stars that converts hydrogen to helium, the other being the proton-proton chain (the main source of energy for our Sun).
Dice
The kit contains 15 bags of 100 dice. The dice can be rolled to model radioactive decays, with graphs plotted to determine the half-life of a system.
Some of the 1,500 dice included in the loan kit!
Google Cardboard VR
Google cardboard being used with the VR tour of the Lego nuclear chart.
The loan kit contains 10 Google Cardboard VR headsets. These headsets can be used with a mobile phone (not provided) to view VR content relating to Nuclear Physics.
We will provide you with links so that you can download applications/videos of:
An interactive full version of the Lego nuclear chart;
Short videos about Fusion energy;
A tour inside a Tokamak, (ITER)
You can also use them with any VR video on YouTube, for example!
Particle Zoo for Beta-decay
The loan kit also contains some particle zoo items! You can use these soft toys to demonstrate beta-decay. The items provided are:
A reversible proton-neutron
An electron
A positron
An electron-neutrino
An electron-antineutrino
Particle zoo set to help demonstrate beta-decay.