  In the current paper, we analyzed the variation of cosmic radiation flux with
elevation, time of the year and ambient temperature with the help of a portable
cosmic muon detector, the construction of which was completed by a team from
Southern Arkansas University (SAU) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(LBNL). Cosmic muons and gamma rays traverse two synchronized scintillators
connected to two photomultiplier tubes (PMT) via light guides, and generate
electronic pulses which we counted using a Data Acquisition Board (DAQ).
Because muons are the product of collisions between high-energy cosmic rays and
atmospheric nuclei, and therefore shower onto earth, the scintillators were
arranged horizontally for detection. The elevation measurements were recorded
at different locations, starting from 60 feet below sea-level at the
Underground Radiation Counting Laboratory at Johnson Space Center, TX, to 4200
feet at Mt. Hamilton, CA. Intermediate locations included sea-level Galveston
Bay, TX, and Mt. Magazine, AR (2800 feet). The data points showed a noticeable
increase in flux as elevation increases, independent of latitude. Measurements
investigating the dependence of cosmic rays on temperature and time of the year
took place locally in Magnolia, AR. We found that cosmic muon flux is uniform,
appears to be independent of conditions on earth, and is anti-correlative with
temperature. We are convinced that the sun has minimal to zero effect on
cosmic-ray flux; it cannot be a major contributing source of this background
radiation. The source of cosmic radiation remains one of the biggest unanswered
questions in physics today.
