Mechanical Oscillations Induced by Penetrating Particles

Investigations into the production of mechanical oscillations in aluminum cylinders by high energy electrons reveal that the mechanism of excitation is a "hot rod model" in which the shower deposits heat in the bar and the hot zone expands causing mechanical vibrations. The conversion efficiency of this process is evaluated in these experiments. The hot rod mechanism does not present a significant background for gravitational events from cosmic rays in room temperature gravitational radiation detectors.