Search for Anomalous Positively Charged Particles fromP32

Abstract

With a small $\beta$-ray spectrometer of unique design, the electrically charged emanations of radioactive ${\mathrm{P}}^{32}$ have been analyzed in an attempt to verify evidence found by others of the emission of positively charged particles in concentrations of the order of ${10}^{-3\mathrm{}}$ to ${10}^{-4\mathrm{}}$ per $\beta$ decay. The ratio of the yield of positively charged particles to that of negatively charged particles in the momentum interval $H\rho =700\mathrm{} \mathrm{to} 2700$ gauss cm was found to be less than 8×${10}^{-6\mathrm{}}$. This ratio is about 100 times smaller than earlier determinations in the same momentum interval obtained with cloud chambers and small spectrometers, but agrees in order of magnitude with a previous result obtained with an ordinary-sized spectrometer. The hypothesis that the anomalous "positive particles" in question are unstable and detectable only at short distances from the source would account for a low positive-particle yield measured with an ordinary spectrometer but cannot account for the disparity between the present results and those arrived at repeatedly with cloud chambers and other "short path length" detectors. It appears that the previously reported "positive particle" ratios in the range ${10}^{-3\mathrm{}}$ to ${10}^{-4\mathrm{}}$ arise from spurious background effects.