Changing the Direction of Radioactive

Particles Through the Use of Magnetic Fields

By: Mila Snow, Connor Whitesell, Eliana Rothwell

ABSTRACT: We decided to look at how different radioactive substances can be altered by

a magnetic pull. We took the radioactive substances, alpha, beta and gamma, and put a
Geiger counter three inches away, and then measured the radioactive counts that the
substances released with and without the magnets. We concluded that the beta radiation
molecules had the highest count of radioactive molecules. This answered our question, can
we deflect radiation by magnetic fields, by telling us that yes, and magnets can alter the
direction of the radioactive substances. This is significant in our daily lives because it can
help us reduce the amount of radiation that humans are exposed to on a daily basis. The
keywords that will be seen throughout the report are the different decays, and some of the
tools that we used, such as the Geiger counter. There are only three decays: alpha, beta
and gamma. Alpha is the weakest decay, beta is the middle and then gamma is the
strongest decay, with very penetrating rays. To be able to do this experiment, we used a
Geiger counter, which counts the radioactive molecules in the surrounding air every second.
Introduction:
This experiment was chosen by the group
because we wanted to gain a higher
knowledge of different radioactive
substances and the different ways that the
radiation can be altered. We were hoping
to learn if we could create a diversion of
radioactive particles with the use of
magnets. The task that we completed by
doing this experiment was using magnetic
fields to affect the radioactive particles.
Before we did the experiment, we
researched the three different radioactive
substances that we were going to be

using. Alpha is the weakest decay, beta is

the middle and then gamma is the
strongest decay, with very penetrating
rays. To be able to do this experiment, we
used a Geiger counter, which counts the
radioactive molecules in the surrounding
air every second. We are expecting to find
that the gamma radiation is the only one
that would not be altered by the magnetic
pull.
Procedure:
First we set up the Geiger counter
and Logger Pro so that we could record

our data. Next, we placed a ruler next to

the counter and measured out the
distances for our shielded sources and
our magnets. We put our sources at 3 and
half inches and our magnets at 3 inches
from the Geiger counter. The, we set the
Logger Pro Program to record for 50
seconds and collect data every second.
We would then run the program at with
the magnet taped vertically upright and
pointed at the collection window of the
counter as shown in diagram one below.
We would run the program once without
magnets and once with the magnets. First
we set up the Geiger counter and Logger

Results:

Pro so that we could record our data.

Next, we placed a ruler next to the counter
and measured out the distances for our
shielded sources and our magnets. We
put our sources at 3 and half inches and
our magnets at 3 inches from the Geiger
counter. The, we set the Logger Pro
Program to record for 50 seconds and
collect data every second. We would then
run the program at with the magnet taped
vertically upright and pointed at the
collection window of the counter as shown
in diagram one below. We would run the
program once without magnets and once
with the magnets.

In Table 1, we are shown three types of

radiation both being affected by magnetic
fields and not being affected magnetic
fields. We see as we progress down the
table the counts increase and then
decrease this is because of the different
sources we used as well as the types of
radiation they emitted. We see that in the
case of Alpha radiation the overall counts
from the background radiation go up and
that the magnets tend to have little effect
on the overall counts. In the case of Beta
radiation we see a huge increase in
counts compared to background radiation.
We also see that the magnets have a
huge impact upon the overall counts.
When the magnets were in place the
average count was decreased by 198.67
counts. Next we look at Gamma where we
see a moderate increase in radiation
counts. We also see that the magnets
have almost no effect.

Discussion:
In this experiment we were seeing
if we could change the direction of
radioactive particles through the use of
magnetic fields. We used three different
types of radioactive substances each
emitting a different type of radiation:
Alpha, Beta and Gamma. With the use of
magnets, we were able to see a change in
the path of some radioactive particles.
We looked at three types of
radiation Particles. One particle we looked
at was Alpha particles. Alpha radiation is
Helium nuclei that are shooting off from
bigger nuclei at high speeds. As seen in
table one there was little to no difference
in the amount of counts when a magnetic
field was introduced into the path of the
particles. This was partially unexpected as
helium nuclei have a positive charge and
should be affected by the magnetic field.
The reason there was no effect is
because alpha particles are heavy and the
source was to close to the Geiger counter
for the particles to change direction
enough to not be counted.

Next, we looked at Beta radiation

particles. Beta radiation is comprised of
an electron and an antineutrino. The
electron shoots of at a very high speed
and is what is actually considered the
radiation particle. We see that the count
when way down when the magnetic field
was introduced. This is because of the
weight of the electron which is almost
negligible this allowed the electrons to be
affected in a greater way than the helium
nuclei. They were also deflected in the
opposite way of the alpha radiation
because they are negatively charged
while alpha is positively charged.
Finally we looked at Gamma
radiation. Gamma radiation is actually
photons. Photons have no charge and can
not be affected by magnets. This is why
we see no significant change in the count
of the radiation particles. We see some
change because the rate of decay is not
constant but varied in the rate.
Overall from these results we can
determine that some types of radiation
particles can be affected by magnetic
fields. Alpha and Beta can both be
affected by magnetic fields. Gamma
cannot.

Hazards:
Some of these hazards in this experiment
arent very significant but should be taken
into account. For example, the radiation
emitting from the radioactive substances
can be harmful but you can still become
irradiated, to reduce the amount of
radiation you are exposed to during this
experiment, dont hold the gamma
substances for too long. Gamma radiation
emits the most radiation followed by Beta
and lastly Alpha, which is the least
harmful. To reduce the risks during this
experiment you should follow basic
protocol of being safe in the lab.