Remote Laboratory For Radiation Detection And Physical Security

For students, and even professionals, functional demonstrations and experiments with equipment help increase understanding. Unfortunately, some institutions do not have access to equipment or material to provide adequate experimental experience. Furthermore, many institutions are promoting distance education, but conducting laboratories via distance is almost impossible. Texas A&M University is meeting this challenge by developing radiation detection and physical security system experiments that can be conducted online. By employing remote-desktop and video-conferencing technology, we have developed a series of remote radiation and security system experiments. After logging into our system, students manipulate an apparatus and radiation sources while using industry-standard software to complete experiments and take data. For radiation detection, experiments have been designed for Geiger-Muller dead time determination, alpha spectroscopy, scintillation detectors, and uranium enrichment determination with high purity germanium detectors. We have recently developed experiments for physical protection systems, including the use of infrared, ultrasonic, light, and touch sensors. Experience with both radiation detection and sensors will provide students with a more encompassing understanding of nuclear facilities outside of the laboratory. This presentation will introduce these distance laboratories, how they were designed and how they are used.