Cell phones used to detect cosmic rays worldwide

In summary, there is an app called CRAYFIS that has been created to detect cosmic rays using the camera lenses of cell phones. It has been used in Iceland, Uzbekistan, and Uganda for outreach and education purposes. However, it may not have practical use for long due to advancements in detector design and imaging processing.
  • #1
Hornbein
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There are now more active cell phones than humans. (?) The camera lenses of cell phones can detect cosmic rays. An app has been created that stores such detections in a data base. The app has been used in Iceland, Uzbekistan, and Uganda. There is no apparent practical use, it is for "outreach and education."

http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.07665
 
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  • #4
It's also 2 different groups/apps- Distributed Electronic Cosmic-ray Observatory (DECO) at the University of Wisconsin (this thread), and Cosmic RAYs Found In Smartphones (CRAYFIS) at University of California, Irvine (the other thread). I played around with both of them late last year and found them both to be a bit flaky on my ASUS table.

These types of apps will probably be short-lived as advances in detector design and imaging processing will eliminate these types of artifacts in the images.
 

1. How do cell phones detect cosmic rays?

Cell phones have built-in sensors called CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) detectors that are used to capture and convert light into electrical signals. These detectors are sensitive to high-energy particles, such as cosmic rays, and can measure the energy and direction of these particles when they interact with the sensor.

2. Can any cell phone be used for detecting cosmic rays?

No, not all cell phones have CMOS detectors. Only certain models with these sensors can be used for detecting cosmic rays. These models are typically high-end smartphones with advanced camera capabilities.

3. How accurate are cell phones in detecting cosmic rays?

The accuracy of cell phones in detecting cosmic rays depends on the quality of the CMOS detector and the software used to analyze the data. Some studies have shown that cell phones can detect cosmic rays with an accuracy of about 90%, which is comparable to other traditional cosmic ray detectors.

4. Are there any potential risks associated with using cell phones for cosmic ray detection?

No, there are no known risks associated with using cell phones for cosmic ray detection. The sensors in cell phones are designed to detect low levels of radiation, and the amount of cosmic rays that they detect is not harmful to humans.

5. How is the data collected from cell phones used in global cosmic ray research?

Data from cell phones used for cosmic ray detection is collected through various citizen science projects, such as CRAYFIS (Cosmic Rays Found in Smartphones) and CREDO (Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory). This data is then analyzed and compared to data from other traditional cosmic ray detectors to gain a better understanding of cosmic rays and their impact on Earth.

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