Particle identification by dielectric track detectors

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Abstract
Chemical reactivity along the trajectory of a charged particle in a dielectric solid depends on the density of radiation-damaged species. In inorganic crystals such as are found in meteorites, cosmic rays can be identified by etching for a long time and measuring the entire etchable ranges of the slowing particles, which are related to their atomic numbers. In plastics, the etching rate is an increasing function of radiation damage density. Measurements of etched ‘cone’ lengths at different points along the trajectory of a particle that passes thruough several sheets provide a very sensitive measure of atomic number. In favorable cases it is possible even to resolve isotopes with the same atomic number. In addition to serving as a general review of work on particle identification using these two schemes, this report provides some unpublished experimental details that are useful in achieving high resolution and reports some new, unpublished measurements.