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== Abstract ==

== Abstract ==

The kinetic theory explains temperature as the collective motion of many particles. (--------------Research-----------) The effects of thermal energy can usually only be seen as an average of millions of billions of particles working together. Statistical physics describes temperature variation as the average kinetic energy, with very few particles with a large amount of kinetic energy and many particles with very small amounts of kinetic energy. This experiment takes advantage of that theory to detect single particles. It uses a new photon detector called an SiPM (Silicon Photomultiplier). The SiPM works like a mousetrap, storing a large amount of energy. A single particle could have enough energy to cause the SiPM to release the all of its stored energy. This energy is then detected and this is the detection of the thermal energy of an individual particle.  

The kinetic theory explains temperature as the collective effect of the motion of many particles. Usually these collective effects are only observed as the average behavior of millions of billions of particles, which all share a common pool of energy. Each particle can have a random amount of energy from the pool, but one particle that uses a lot of energy, would leave less energy for the rest of the particles. Therefore, the energy distribution in thermal equilibrium at temperature T is an exponential distribution. This means that very few particles have a large amount of kinetic energy, but no matter how high the energy or how low the temperature, the population is never quite zero. This experiment has been carried out using a novel detector comprised of a large array of silicon avalanche photodiodes known as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). It stores a large amount of energy and releases it if there is a slight disturbance. From time to time, an electron would have enough energy to set off the silicon photomultiplier from the randomness of the thermal energy distribution. This mechanism reacts to the energy of a single electron, allowing us to detect the thermal energies of a single particle.  

[[Counting individual photons|Back]]

[[My research paper|Back]]