Muon Tomography: Cosmic-Ray Scattering Imaging

This simulator recreates the physics behind cosmic-ray muon tomography: a naturally occurring, always-on flux of cosmic-ray muons rains down from the top of the scan volume, some of them clipping a hidden block of chosen material before hitting the bottom detector. Each muon's trajectory bends by a random amount governed by the Highland multiple-Coulomb-scattering formula, with the bend size set by the material's radiation length, the path length through it, and the muon's momentum. By squaring and averaging the measured deflection angle of every muon that crosses each patch of the scan area, the simulator builds up a live density image on the detector plane — brighter, hotter patches mean denser material was in the way — the same statistical reconstruction method used by real detectors scanning cargo containers, reactor cores and volcanoes for hidden or shielded material.