The application of solid-state track detectors for measuring alpha-particle angular distributions in nuclear reactions

The track diameter of particles entering the track detectors at right angles shows a strong dependence on the energy and type of particles. Some general features of this effect are discussed. It is shown that, even in glass, different heavy nuclei can be distinguished according to their track diameters. New data are presented for α-particles registrated in Makrofol E. Using the correlation between α-particle energy and track diameter, detailed investigations have been carried out to measure angular distributions of α-groups from nuclear reactions. Preliminary experimental results obtained for reaction 19F(d, α) and 27Al(d, α) at very low bombarding energies are presented.