These pages constitute a brief introduction to the physics concepts behind Cosmic Rays and methods to observe them. The detectors that you will use in your experiments, are part of a larger array known as Cosmic Rays Telescope (CRT) - a project involving LIP, IST, and ten high-schools, to detect and characterize highly energetic cosmic rays. The experiments suggested for you are much simpler and can be performed in a few hours. To learn more about the apparatus that you will use, visit the Detector pages.

In the remaining parts of this introduction you will learn what are cosmic rays and how they interact with the atmosphere, and how to detect them with large detector arrays as the one of the project CRT.

In case you find yourself struggling with strange words, try out the English version of the glossary in the other part of the ``Science for all´´ site.

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