Basic studies on the Rossi-alpha experiment the correlation amplitude

The results are given of theoretical and experimental studies on the correlation amplitude in the Rossi-α experiment, which does not follow Orndoff's theory in the usual procedure of measurement. It is shown that the correlation amplitude depends on the condition of the trigger count, and that Orndoff's amplitude is the average of those triggered by all pulses from the detector. Experimental results substantiating this theory are presented. The two-fork approximation is proved from experiment to be a good approximation near the critical state; which is a revelation of practical significance. A new method is proposed for obtaining the correlation amplitude by measuring the distribution of the number of family counts, and its application promises to be of great practical usefulness. (author)