[katieHaylor (OP)]

Kay asks:

Can cosmic rays pass through both alpha and gamma detectors and leave a coincident signal? And what effect this may have on the decay spectrum?

What do you think?

[evan_au]

There are many kinds of alpha and gamma particle detectors, so I don't see how there can be a generic answer here.

But cosmic rays are very penetrating, as is the shower of secondary particles produced when they interact with matter. So they probably will pass through most matter (if its not too thick). That's why experiments like neutrino detectors and dark matter detectors are buried deep underground.

What problem are you trying to solve?

[alancalverd]

The earliest detectors were a stack of photographic films. A cloud chamber is still a good cosmic ray analyser.

[kaydence]

There are many kinds of alpha and gamma particle detectors, so I don't see how there can be a generic answer here.

But cosmic rays are very penetrating, as is the shower of secondary particles produced when they interact with matter. So they probably will pass through most matter (if its not too thick). That's why experiments like neutrino detectors and dark matter detectors are buried deep underground.

What problem are you trying to solve?

As cosmic rays leave a coincident signal after passing through the detectors, what effect this may have on the shape of the decay spectrum?

[alancalverd]

The interaction with the detector material strongly determines the observed spectrum thereafter. In the case of the cloud chamber, the sum of all the tracks indicates the nature of the primary interaction.