For some students, November 13th was a day entirely dedicated to learning the ins and outs of cosmic rays.
by Vlad Borlovan
On November 13th, students from the Fermi went to the University of Ferrara to take part in the International Cosmic Day, a day dedicated to the divulgation of knowledge about space. This year the main topic was cosmic rays.
The students first took a pair of lectures about cosmic rays, the history of their study and the methods of detecting them. Then, they examined an experiment and were later given the task to simulate with computer code. The experiment involved two scintillators (i.e. plastic material that lights up when a particle passes through it) on a rotating axis, and it aimed to see how many cosmic rays hit both of them when placed at different angles.
Another interesting experiment was the cloud chamber that could show the trails of particles. It was possible to see hose made by cosmic rays passing through, and those made by electrons decaying from a uranium glass pearl placed inside the chamber.
Towards the end of the conference, there was a showcase of the CRC: the Cosmic Ray Cube. It’s a cube that is able to detect incoming cosmic rays’ rotation and position in real time, display them on its sides through some lights and broadcast the information on the web. All of this while looking like a very expensive nightlight.
Last but not least, two volunteers (one of them was a student from the Fermi) chose to present all of the activities of the day in English to a group of other schools in France and Germany that also took part in the event, with their own activities.
To conclude, the International Cosmic Day proved to be a fun mix of activities that kept students engaged and might also have lit up some interest in studying Physics in the future.
Iulia Marasescu 
Giacomo Terzi 
Redazione