In this thesis an experiment to measure the transverse polarization of electrons from the decay of polarized 60Co is presented. The result
[equation; see abstract in scanned thesis for details]
is consistent with the predicted polarization based on the V - A theory of the weak interaction and the Weinberg, Salam, Glashow model. The theoretical prediction is
[equation; see abstract in scanned thesis for details]
where
[equation; see abstract in scanned thesis for details].
This is the first measurement of the transverse polarization of beta particles from the decay of polarized nuclei. The polarization of the electrons was measured by scattering them from gold foil and detecting the scattering asymmetry predicted by Mott scattering theory. 60Co nuclei were polarized by embedding them in a ferromagnetic host where they feel a strong hyperfine field. The host foil was attached to a dilution refrigerator to lower the entropy of the nuclei and allow for nuclear polarization.
