Drift tube borehole muon detector system, apparatus, and method for muon radiography and tomography

A system for borehole muon geotomography, the system including at least one borehole muon detector for placement in at least one boreholes and a processor in electronic communication with each of the borehole muon detectors, each borehole muon detector including a substantially cylindrical housing, which defines a bore, a pair of end caps, each end cap sealing an end of the cylindrical housing and a plurality of sealed drift tubes which are longitudinally disposed in the bore of the housing to form a bundle of drift tubes, wherein each sealed drift tube comprises:

• a centrally located anode wire disposed on a longitudinal axis;
• an inner surface which is coated with a cathode coating;
• and printed circuit board in electrical communication with the anode wire and in electronic communication with the processor.

A method for borehole muon radiography or geotomography, the method comprising:

• positioning a plurality of borehole muon detectors in one or more boreholes, each borehole muon detector including a plurality of sealed drift tubes, each drift tube including a centrally located anode wire disposed on a longitudinal axis, an inner surface which is coated with a cathode coating and timer;
• generating a radial electric field between the anode wire and the cathode coating;
• and measuring a plurality of muon trajectories.