LXVIII. Measurement of ionization in nuclear emulsions

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Abstract
The gap-length distribution along the tracks of ionizing particles in nuclear emulsions has been investigated, and shown to be exponential for all values of specific ionization. The coefficient of the exponential, g, is suggested as the most useful measure of the ionization. In the first part of the paper, practical visual methods of measuring g are discussed. Accuracies not far inferior to the maximum possible are obtained by counting the small proportion of gaps of lengths exceeding two or three times the average value. The ratio of the coefficient g in a given track, to that in the track of a relativistic electron, is shown to be independent of degree of development, for particles below six times plateau ionization. In the seoond part of the paper, a detailed model is proposed, which is capable of explaining the dependence of g on the velocity and charge of the ionizing particle, and on the development and sensitivity of the emulsion.

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