Remotely Controlled Radiation Detection Laboratory for Online Education

Abstract

Remote education capabilities make up an important component of an institution’s services. A challenge in improving remote education capabilities has been developing experiments for remote laboratory education that mimic the experience found in the traditional laboratory setting. To meet this challenge, a remote laboratory for radiation detection education has been developed for the nuclear engineering and health physics disciplines. The laboratory makes use of robotics for linear and rotational movements that imitate the hands-on motion found in an in-person laboratory setting. Once logged into the system, students have access to industry-standard software and can view the experiment apparatus through a live-time camera feed. The experiments developed for this remote laboratory include counting statistics and dead time, inverse square law, Compton scattering, gamma spectroscopy with scintillation detectors, gamma attenuation, and uranium enrichment determination.