Electron Contamination of Van Allen Belt Proton Measurements

Short range particles suck as low energy protons are not easily measured in the electron environment of, the Van Allen belts. Some electrons scatter through large angles and deposit most of their energy in thin high-Z scintillators, causing them to be incorrectly identified as heavy charged particles. Backscattering from the high-Z material will also allow electrons to be identified as heavy charged particles. It is concluded that the high flux of trapped electrons places limitations on the use of pulse-height analysis techniques to measure low energy protons.