CERN@school: a new app displays natural radiation data
A student from the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Kent (UK) has developed an app that displays data recorded by Medipix chips. Created for Android-based devices, the app is a new way for students to visualize the natural radiation in their local area.
James Hurst shows off the Medipix chips at his school's stand at the UK's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
James Hurst, 17, developed the app in the framework of the CERN@school project that Becky Parker, a former participant in CERN’s High School Teachers (HST) programme, set up in 2008. “The app is able to display pre-recorded data in both graphic and numeric formats,” explains James. “I am already envisaging further developments, which might include producing the iOS version and eventually a live data-taking system.”
CLEAR (Comprehensive Langton Evaluation and Analysis of Radiation), as it is named, will soon be available free from the Android Market together with its source code. All schools participating in CERN@school will be able to download it and use it to visualize their data.
But James has dreams that go even further, as the Medipix-based LUCID detector will be launched into space in a few months and will start to send data back to Earth soon after. CLEAR might then become the best way of visualizing real data coming directly from space on your smartphone.
Further information about CLEAR, please contact Becky Parker, founder of CERN@school, at becky@beckyparker.co.uk
