Engineering Papers⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Binns, W. R.

Publications and source records attributed to Binns, W. R..

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

Cosmic-ray abundances of Sn, Te, Xe, and Ba nuclei measured on HEAO 3

The results of an analysis of HEAO 3 Heavy Nuclei Experimental data covering 440 days of observations of Sn-Ba nuclei in cosmic rays are reported. The particles were detected by a Cernkov counter, and a Z-squared ceiling was calculated to normalize the histograms produced. The observed large abundance of Sn and Ba relative to other elements in the region of interest indicated a predominance of the s-process in the source of the particles. When account was taken of first ionization potential effects, the data indicated that the material could be solar system in origin. A source dominated by the r-process nucleosynthesis was ruled out at the 0.93 confidence level.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Scintillator-fiber charged particle track-imaging detector

A scintillator-fiber charged-particle track-imaging detector was developed using a bundle of square cross section plastic scintillator fiber optics, proximity focused onto an image intensified charge injection device (CID) camera. The tracks of charged particle penetrating into the scintillator fiber bundle are projected onto the CID camera and the imaging information is read out in video format. The detector was exposed to beams of 15 MeV protons and relativistic Neon, Manganese, and Gold nuclei and images of their tracks were obtained. Details of the detector technique, properties of the tracks obtained, and preliminary range measurements of 15 MeV protons stopping in the fiber bundle are presented.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Scintillator-fiber charged-particle track-imaging detector

A scintillator-fiber charged-particle track-imaging detector has been developed using a bundle of square cross-section plastic scintillator fiber optics, proximity focused onto an image intensified Charge Injection Device (CID) camera. Detector to beams of 15 MeV protons and relativistic Neon, Manganese, and Gold nuclei have been exposed and images of their tracks are obtained. This paper presents details of the detector technique, properties of the tracks obtained, and range measurements of 15 MeV protons stopping in the fiber bundle.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Cosmic ray elemental abundances for Z = 26-42 measured on HEAO-3

An analysis is presented of 454 days of data from the Heavy Nuclei Experiment aboard the HEAO-3 satellite using an improved charge estimation algorithm is presented. A more precise normalization of Z = 32-42 abundances relative to iron is obtained, and more accurate detector response maps are used to recognize and reject a small class of events which was previously misidentified. The resulting abundances are in generally good agreement with solar system abundances with the first ionization potential (FIP) and with the Cameron solar system r-process (1982) with and without an applied FIP bias. The simplest interpretation of the results is that the cosmic ray source has solar system abundances modified by an FIP and/or volatility-dependent bias.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Cosmic-ray abundances of the even charge elements from Sn-50 to Ce-58 measured on HEAO-3

Elements with even atomic number (Z) in the interval Z = 50-58 have been resolved in the cosmic radiation using the Heavy Nuclei Experiment on the HEAO-3 satellite. The observation that Sn-50 and Ba-56 are more abundant than Te-52 and Xe-54 indicates a substantial s-process contribution to the cosmic ray source. A significant abundance of Ce-58 provides further support for this finding.

Stone, E. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The cosmic ray abundances of the platinum-lead elements as measured on HEAO-3

The relative abundances of elements in the charge ranges of Z = 75-79 (platinum) and Z = 80-83 (lead) should be a sensitive indication of the contributions of the r- and s-processes in nucleosynthesis. Data from the HEAO 3 Heavy Nuclei Experiment are used to establish abundances, relative to iron, of these elements in the cosmic radiation, as well as the ratio of 'secondary' elements, in the Z = 62-74 range, to the primary lead-platinum elements. These results appear to suggest that either the source abundances are deficient in s-process elements or that they are not organized solely by first ionization potential. In addition, present propagation models can adequately represent the relative abundances of primary and secondary elements.

Fixsen, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Energy spectra of ultraheavy cosmic rays - Results from HEAO-3

The HEAO-3 Heavy Nuclei Experiment measures cosmic-ray energy directly in the interval 400 to about 1200 MeV/amu. Geomagnetic cutoffs can also be derived up to about 15 GV. Preliminary rigidity spectra of various ultraheavy cosmic-ray elements relative to iron are presented.

Israel, M. H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Interactions of 200 GeV gold nuclei in light elements

Total charge-changing cross sections and partial cross-sections for interactions of 200 GeV Au-197 nuclei incident on carbon and polyethylene (CH2) targets have been measured during a calibration of the HEAO-3 Heavy Nuclei Experiment. From these, the total and partial cross-sections for Au-197 incident on hydrogen are inferred. The effects of using these cross-sections in one model of cosmic ray propagation are illustrated. Comparisons to predictions using semi-empirical formulas are shown.

Brewster, N. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Abundances of 'secondary' elements among the ultraheavy cosmic rays - Results from HEAO-3

The HEAO-3 Heavy Nuclei Experiment has measured elemental abundances of ultraheavy cosmic rays near earth. The elements with atomic number (Z) in the intervals Z = 44-48 and Z = 62-74 arriving at earth are expected to have significant secondary components. However, their source abundances are unlikely to be low enough to warrant treating them as pure secondaries. The present results are consistent with solar system abundances modified for first ionization potential with possibly some enhancement of the r to s ratio.

Klarmann, J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The non-Z-squared response of the heavy nuclei cosmic ray detector on HEAO-3

A combination of ion chambers and Cerenkov radiators similar to the Heavy Nuclei Experiment flown on HEAO-3 was calibrated at the Bevalac heavy-ion accelerator using beams of Mn-25 nuclei at kinetic energies up to about 1700 MeV/nucleon and Au-79 nuclei up to about 1000 MeV/nucleon. The data show only a small deviation (about 2-3 charge units at Au) from the Z-squared scaling used previously (Binns et al., 1981, 1982, 1983) to analyze the HNE data. Although at lower energy, the calibration indicates that the published relative abundances of the Sn-50/Ba-56 group and the published upper-limit actinide abundances are not likely to be significantly affected by non-Z-squared effects.

Garrard, T. L.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The abundance of the actinides in the cosmic radiation as measured on HEAO 3

The HEAO 3 detector of heavy cosmic-ray nuclei has observed one possible actinide nucleus and some 100 nuclei of the platinum-lead group of elements. The resulting upper limit of 3% for the abundance ratio of actinides to platinum-lead nuclides is significantly lower than previous results from other observations. This new limit is inconsistent with freshly synthesized, pure r-process sources for cosmic-ray nuclei in this charge interval but is consistent with a source having a composition similar to the solar system, or to aged r-process material. We observe no events with a charge greater than 96.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Abundances of cosmic ray nuclei heavier than 50 Sn

Preliminary results are reported from 430 days of exposure of the heavy nuclei experiment on the HEAO-3 spacecraft. These results are confined to the heavy nuclei with Z equal to or greater than 50 and emphasize the conclusions obtained on the relative numbers of actinides and heavy stable elements in the lead-platinum region. The extreme paucity of actinides found is inconsistent with the predictions of a cosmic ray source that is highly enriched in r-process material, but quite consistent with a source whose composition is similar to that of normal solar system material. An upper limit, at the 95 percent confidence level, is placed in the ratio of nuclei with Z equal to or greater than 88/(Z in the range from 74 to 87) of 0.03.

Waddington, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Cosmic-ray abundances of elements with atomic number 26 less than or equal to 40 measured on HEAO 3

Individual elements in the cosmic radiation of even atomic number (Z) in the interval 26-40 have been resolved and their relative abundances measured. The results are inconsistent with a cosmic-ray source whose composition in this charge interval is dominated by r-process nucleosynthesis. The ratios of cosmic-ray source abundances to solar system abundances in this interval follow the same general correlation with first ionization potential as for the lighter elements, although there are deviations in detail.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The UH-nuclei cosmic ray detector on the third High Energy Astronomy Observatory

The third High Energy Astronomy Observatory satellite (HEAO-3) carries a particle telescope for the detection of highly charged cosmic ray nuclei. These nuclei, which have Z equal to or greater than 28, are much rarer than the lower charged nuclei in the cosmic radiation. As a consequence, this particle telescope was required to have a large collecting area as well as an ability to resolve individual elements. This paper describes the telescope, composed of large area parallel plate ionization chambers, multiwire ion chamber hodoscopes and a Cherenkov radiation detector. The resulting telescope has a total geometry factor of 59,000 sq cm sr and is capable of measuring the charges of nuclei in the range Z = 14-120.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Implications of ultraheavy cosmic-ray source composition derived from observations by the HEAO-3 heavy nuclei experiment

The contribution of r-process and s-process nucleosynthesis to the Cameron (1980) solar system (SS) abundances for Z at least 33 has been derived. In the interval Z equals 34-40 HEAO-3 data extrapolated to the cosmic-ray source (CRS) fit the solar system mix better than r-process. In the interval Z between 26-40 the HEAO-3 results for CRS/SS follow the same general correlation with first ionization potential as for the lighter elements although there are deviations in detail.

Israel, M. H.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The heavy nuclei experiment on HEAO-3

The HEAO-3 experiment to study the heavy and ultraheavy nuclei in cosmic radiation is described. The array is double-ended and consists of three main elements. Two pressure chambers, filled with an argon-methane mixture at about 850 torr, each contain two x-y hodoscopes made of wires spaced 1 cm apart and three parallel plate ionization chambers. Between the pressure chambers is mounted a Cerenkov counter composed of two layers of Pilot 425 radiator looked at by eight photomultipliers. The instrument is designed to achieve a charge resolution of 0.3 charge units over the charge range 17-120, which requires a measurement accurate to 0.6 percent at Z = 100. Examination of selected data shows that the instrument has the intrinsic resolution needed.

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Energy spectra of individual cosmic-ray elements with 12 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 28

Results are presented from a high-altitude balloon flight in September 1972 of a detector using ionization chambers and a Lucite Cerenkov counter. Relative abundances of elements of 14 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 30 are presented, as are energy spectra for individual elements between 0.8 and 1.6 GeV/N. A difference between the low- and high-energy relative abundances of iron and iron-secondaries is found, as well as a sharp fall-off in the Fe/Si ratio below 1 GeV/N.

Israel, M. H.↗