Students in Aimee Ragland’s science class at Oakland High School are getting a unique opportunity to participate in cutting-edge international physics research.
Ragland’s students are using state-of-the-art radiation detectors to get first-hand knowledge on how the fundamental particles of matter are investigated at large particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland and the Tevatron accelerator at Fermilab near Chicago.
Particle accelerators, or superconductors, collide beams of ions into each other at close to the speed of light to test various physics theories.
“This program will introduce students to research methods and inquiry,” Ragland explained. “My students will design their own experiment (as a class), analyze and present their results, and find applications for their research.”
Ragland said the research with improve students’ thinking skills and inspire their future research.
The students are using the radiation detectors to study the speed, clustering, angular distribution, and penetration power of cosmic radiation through five bricks.
After their research is complete, the students will share their findings with Gayle Dawson’s class from Blackman High School.
The research opportunity came from Ragland’s participation in QuarkNet, a program funded by the particle physics divisions of the Department of Energy and the National Science foundation.
QuarkNet gives professional development and support for physics teachers nationwide to bring them together with research workers in the field of particle physics. Vanderbilt University is the local host for the program.
“Vanderbilt University approached several schools five years ago to see if teachers were interested in participating,” Ragland said. “We began by meeting in the summers at Vanderbilt and it has grown to a rewarding year-round program bringing the research to our students.”
Vanderbilt helps teachers construct the radiation counters, learn about their operation, learn about research on Cosmic Rays and how scientists learn about the fundamental particles of matter at the large accelerators.
QuarkNet is intended to give teachers a deeper understanding of physics, an appreciation for the machinery of modern science, an introduction to inquiry-based teaching as well as evolution in individual teaching to a more student-centered mode of instruction.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.
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