

Cosmic rays found in smartphones - betatim
http://crayfis.ps.uci.edu

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tezza
This is a misleading project name :(

It sounds like a statement or headline : "read all about it: Cosmic Rays Found
in Smartphones"

Rather it could be better to say: "help scientists detect cosmic rays with a
crowd sourcing smartphone app"

~~~
privong
The actual paper[0] title is somewhat precise: "Observing Ultra-High Energy
Cosmic Rays with Smartphones"

[0] [http://arxiv.org/abs/1410.2895](http://arxiv.org/abs/1410.2895)

~~~
scottcanoni
Please change the title of this post to:

"Observing Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays with Smartphones"

~~~
mhb
Or you could link it to the previous submission (titled _Observing Ultra-High
Energy Cosmic Rays with Smartphones_ ):

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8454680](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8454680)

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kaivi
Can capacitive touchscreens be perhaps useful, with their much larger surface
areas?

For perspective, in mid-2013, the combined screen area of just all the iPhones
ever manufactured, was around 1.33 square km ( _214.39 square feet_ ). Source:
[http://www.wired.com/2013/06/iphone-
screens/](http://www.wired.com/2013/06/iphone-screens/)

~~~
friendly_chap
1 337 647 square meters = 14 398 312.5 square feet [1]

[1]
[https://www.google.co.uk/#q=1337647+sqm+to+sqft](https://www.google.co.uk/#q=1337647+sqm+to+sqft)

~~~
kaivi
Ugh, I'm confused by those area conversions. Edited to 1.33 km^2. I believe it
sounds right and puts scale into perspective.

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JonnieCache
Can anyone speak to the potential battery drain from this thing?

Sounds like a wicked idea though. Like a more modern seti@home.

~~~
gambiting
Actually, HTC has an application that you can run on your phone that can
contribute to any BOINC projects, while the phone has its screen off and is
charging - that includes helping Seti@Home. I have it on my phone so I
contribute 8-10 hours of calculations to projects every single day when I go
to sleep.

~~~
benjk
For the broader context: The Android app (BOINC,
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.b...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.boinc))
that allows you to run SETI@Home on your Android device will also let you to
support other volunteer distributed computing projects. The projects are from
various fields of science like Einstein@Home (astrophysics), PrimeGrid
(mathematics), or World Community Grid (humanitarian projects).

~~~
gambiting
This is the HTC app I talked about:

[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.htc.ptg](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.htc.ptg)

I am not sure what is different between this and the official BOINC app, apart
from a sleeker interface. Both do the same thing.

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astazangasta
Hmm, when I worked with light microscopes as an undergrad we used to find at
least one pixel blown out completely in every image from a cosmic ray
intersecting the CCD array. Looks like these guys are detecting tracks from
particle decay affecting multiple pixels. Seems hard!

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jonmrodriguez
Direct link to the paper:
[http://crayfis.ps.uci.edu/paper.pdf](http://crayfis.ps.uci.edu/paper.pdf)

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37prime
FTP:

 _Extensive air showers generated by cosmic rays produce muons and high-energy
photons, which can be detected by the CMOS sensors of smartphone cameras._

No this does not validate the “Cosmic Rays Entering Earth From Mars” hoax.

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leni536
Something similar project name to folding@home would be awesome. Like
rays@phone.

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anigbrowl
Ooh, clever!

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jcromartie
They want everybody to volunteer to install an app that captures images while
the phone is asleep? That is a surveillance state's wet dream...

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kissickas
The phone must be placed face up (camera side down).

