(Count Raye Genre © 196by Mecrow Ie A ghee, Pita athe {oe Se fis, Tock ar te ay pe te of ares aly Card Nae 6431519 RAS Physics RR, 8EP17 1069 Neon” q Preface A steady rain of charged particen, moving at nearly the speed ot Yih, falls upon our planet at alte and frm al dietons, ‘These particles, Known a aa rye ar jst te mle fon ‘ary atoms rippal oftheir eleton forth most pt ce of adogen “The property of coum rays that sts the rays opart fom all ‘other kinds af radiation and scnunte forthe sxteacdiry ale they have played inthe development of mera hain ihe very larg individual ences of cxsmicay pate. Before the ds ‘vey of connie ray, the partie of hight eeey known to ‘hypiciss were thow emit ia the spontaneous desay of radio ffi of ccamie rays under cutzlled Iboraory emit, Physics bran developing secabrator upabl of ¥lding per Seles ot higher and higher energies. Rezeliy, man-madeachines, ‘ving achieved energies about 1,000 tes the charts ‘of matral radioactivity, hve overtaken the “average” ommiety Particle, But cosmic raps have very wide range of eery, aad for of them are kno to ave mor than a inn ite the onegY ofthe particles produced by the most powerfl ef our avocleratr. Io this book Ihave red ta eae bow. sartine fran enna ‘evil observation, physics dizovered the eitene of comic "ays: how, though bal century af aed work, try Gal ound ‘ut yueity min conte rare town the poo, they disco ‘ed «host of mew parties Ut are horn out of eneigy eo ive 07005054 Preface bot «minute ration of «second, and ths opened tne net ot lementarypartile physier et how, fr ll their bos, they now ‘problem than any ey sey sled: he preblem of the rg of Tat tet this story might have some iteret ot only forthe professional physicist bat for any person with acuity about (ris are made, ‘Thecefone, have tried to keep the language a impln verse witht violating aia ecracy and Thave ‘otted ll the techival details and mathematical developments that ere not teed for understanding the eweatil parts of the sory. T know tht in doing T ave failed to give proper eog- ition to many ditnguiabed scieatsta who made vital conts- Dutlos w the development of soamie ray physics Te would be fate forme to apalogise to them: ested, I tras in their ndes- ‘ang af Ue constr iposed by the character of thi book. Tot abo waen th reader that cause af personal invalve= meat in the subject, I could not be expected to write the sory of ‘Ram ays a imparbay as Tight ave had T bees werly fpectatar Infact, what Ihave tld this bok sto large extent ‘Rey of tow my understanding of oomiornyeeta developed troup the years ‘Therefore, it inquite posible Ut my ova work tnd tint of my eoliabrators may have been given unde promi- ‘Many fronds have geerouly eed with advice and ogre uss am Geply haf allo tna Dt pir to ‘Giuseppe Ochilnt and the at Francia Fridman, who tok the Ime trout the sohole manwscsibt and did ot sare me their tenstructve ein, T wich alo to express my appreciation to [Anthony Wiggenhor fr Bi moet consintons and competent stra work Bruno Roast weone 10 " 12 wouter space 1 ‘Atoms and radiations 13. Tho nature of cosmic rays 27 Punting clues 43 Using the earth as a magnet to analyze cosmic rays 53 Positrons and the materialization of energy 77 Hlectrons, photons, ‘Mu mesons 101 Pimesons 125 Ind showers 87 Nuviear interactions of cosmic rays 149 ‘What cosmic rays are and what they do in the atmosphere 163, Giant showers of the atmosphere 17913° The Van Allen radiation belt 193 14 Cosmic rays and te sun 205 15, The origin of cosmic rays: fan unsolved problem 219 ‘epoetisce A. Mass porunit area 233 1B Powers of ten 235 © Logarithmic soatos 237 BD Energy and momentum 239 E Theelectron volt 243, F Computation of magnetic Hoidity 245 G The neutron and the structure of atomic nuclei 247 H The neutrino 251 Elementary particles 255 Index 261 Cosmic RaysCommie Rays Conn 164 Menon A Rewer rn in ‘ak Ste of Aen" partly ped iney frm ion priate tn psa Liver of Conga Cli Cart Nak 1520 . ~ Physics RR. Gi Ty ‘BEP17 1969 “4 Preface {A stay rain of sarge partisan, moving ot nary the aoe Tight fas upon oor planet at alten aod fom all diction, ‘The particles, Known a nem ay, ae Just the sul of ond ary etoms sppel of tr lestrone for he mt part ack of hydroge. “Te propery of cose rays Wat sets the ray apart fm all ‘other Lins of radiation nd woznant forthe extraordinary role they have played in the devalgment af moder pig the vory larg individual energies of cmmicray aril Beer the dis ‘over of cowie ay, the partis of highest eneey kaown 10 Physica were thow emit ia the spestanoun dey of radio: ‘civ atoms. Sometime ate, gly i an rt a dpa the ‘fot of coumie tye wml mtd aban clo, ‘lysis began developing accelerators capable of yielding per. tiles ot higher and hieer eerie. Recently man muda machine, ving achive eerie about 10000 times thowe character of paturalredicatvty, have overtaken the “average” owe rc. Dut coumic ay have e vey wie ang of eer, and few of them are known to have more than a bilo ines th ney ‘fhe pavticlnprodacd by th oat yore fea eet In this book Fhave ied to relate how, starting fom seringy trivial observations, pice discovered the exten of came ryhow, through ble centary of bard work, thes nally found ‘ut pecsely what cosmic raysare; own the procs they dav ‘rede now uf we prc that ae Bor Out ot eegy a ve u7ues nel Professor, Bruno Rossi ery Breve Bo Cosmic RaysA radiation from outer space Atsit dock onthe morning af August 7, 1912, bal tended {rom el ar the town af Ae in Aut. In the gon ot the balloon were three men: aavigator, » metsclogt, nd lysis. During the next 254 hours, the balloon tom to an slttude of 18.00 fest while ditng rapidly northward. For ‘nother hoor it oad between 1,00 apd 1600 et. At non the Trou toca down tear the German tava of isk, 39 tls ‘ait of Beri and wane 15 miles cm Avs "The php and ldo f the fight wat Vitor Pease ‘nd taken with him hres letospes ef he hind the Ing we to detect and ensure the redition ented by radium and ther radioactive santanees. Wile hs companion took care of the ‘aviation and mensred atta and temperate, Hs watched retour ele ep. "MoM er, reel sy fe t,he pte the ncAbb At lt ee sell 2 Cone Raye Novos 1918, lowe of the Ona oat Meh Bit ‘ehh Hess mmaroe hin work with he statment: “The reaults fm berating are bat exclained by the esumption that tadintion of very gost penetrating power eer our etoaphere from above.” the bepioning of one of the most extraordinary sutventurin in he bistory of ence. Sabsequat investigations of the "radiation fom shave” opened wp the new and bowlering ‘wold of high-energy physics. Here scents foand pate af ‘italic dimeoson, with ener thousands, lions, Lilins Urlloos of tine greater than the energy of parila ted by radioactive mates found on earth Here or te Gre ime they tne procs i wich pen of lis ae rated vat of Chery and then promply disappear ia giving bth to other Perec Rajond thie Hea’s discovery revealed new vistas in ‘rophysis end cooley. Th myeteraun radiation was ound to cary inpetast messages conceraing the physical eondton of the distant region of space through whch ft had traveled on a sre tthe earth, Aad Gall in an efor to explain the rein of UUcrataton, physica developed aumber of wove ene aboot the tar ofthe event tat take place instars an inthe mames odie gu that il intestllar space. ‘Dat in August, 1912, 90 one —iolading Heas— had any eon to surpct sich developments. What ther, had prompted Hew to peter i experiment? Abd on What evened he be in coclsioa?| ying about for long tine. Hass discovery was to exception, or mor than a century pyscste bai Kaown that a golddeat Clettscope (Fig. T-) or alg fastrumeat will wot hold an ‘etic change indefinitely. The phenomenon of loss of charge it amis anja ove ake = ag nod peso one When a ebargal piace of lan, for example wooched ogsnn the trial yd ean eleceonope the tno leaves supende from the ‘ol ly spar. This happen Because both Taves have aoqired the ‘A radiation fam oer space a sree eng (ee can) a ego pe er ‘The leaves rain apart for tine aftr the glass hie been t= ‘moved: but eventually ie by ite they deep ati rin ‘otitis a the etic charge graduelly dapper. nan ardinaryelectescope the charge escapes naiay thro ‘he isting seve that separates te rod from the meal ra, ‘With special care, tis leak can be reduced petal to 210; bt rea, the decomp wil ot rin change eda. Now wil the ase of any particular gat Gistend of ar in an siti ‘lectrwcope case ct the fal sult ‘Dy the ead ofthe ninetenth cary, physics had ened enough aboat the stratare of matter to te able to explain the ‘ontaneou dicharge of eeewospes. rity. they knew that mater consists of stows, thet each chemical element repeat & {oinin varlous combination to orm moles of deen chem tubstances, While thi pictur of what atoms "lok like” wan from preci, they knew that atoms ordiarily contin eal ‘quantities of postive and negative charge, To thes overall balance A Ale‘ Coumie Rye of opposite charg thy said the eal tate of atoms ed Som. Manor they tno tht the ces thst Topi sulle of some vile dlamentry ara Tndesd, Tort tte Sepak hpi ff Taomans ts deve por very alas — We elton wich he ened {he furdamentl wif este care ‘on cording to spectre, the daha of he eae scope wi toe explied by theft at ps alae aso Sie tharcete nesta alm oan son 05 hun et with ec pve care. The Clete SEN irs ete neta mea, A nmbe of ‘Spurned sw oie th the i orgs routing {ie doceecope avs aways gy ionized tht aay hun sama pacotage five etn and charge ade Sao brotha ori fh vee rly ‘Banga ey ses negate Snob rpel paste om 13. The ‘positive charge that holds the leaves apart is gradually satay teetve longed the lees drop. Convery, Teh ehral forsee pile om wi thesane el Fie 12 Dias an eee by A radiation fram ote spce H ‘ue wat waste ran or te everprsent, st nia tion of gases? Physstsseking to enewer tha quetion in the ‘rly years ofthe twentoth entry were tar that varius Kind ‘of raintion could ionize esa. In 1095 Wisin Roentgen ad Alscovered X-ays and had found tht an eletonope dichareed ‘immediately wea paced infec an X-ay tbe Tho ext year Hens Beoqurel covered rdiastivity, and in 1898 Pier end Movie Cote soca a bul rm, Te en ah one rdioectve substances also cated ionising ros capable of dix: charging an clcteoarp. I the ght a farts, met physi were line to conse the cared Saizaton of gan rent ing fom some sort of wenk radiata rier tha frm a spot taneous breakup of ga molclos ‘ne obvious posbilty was thst the radiation ame rm all ease of rdiontve ubstance jest te wars rl tlostescopas were made. This pa tarned ott be ply core far same af the lnisation as often tend to ach rive However, adiuctive contamination of the arroment could wot count for the mboe elect. Espernenters were able to doreme the rat of discharge by surounding an elecronpe with ead or vate; ths part ofthe onsiag mditon had to comes en tae, [XC the ame time thet Igor of matter rele to pee tn appreciable decrease poled to redition of considerable rotating power For decade the pevaig opinion atsibuted the woure of tho pontrating radiation to mite quantities of redioective materials inthe earth's rst. Clery, ne oa et the sump ‘ion by comparing obervatins at dierent altudes If the radiation roponsbl fr the dntarge of the clestemaye eae from the earth, it boa be strongest ner the earth's surface ad brome pogresielywinker with itrensn liad ‘Several investigators, nclading Thornes Wallin Germany en |. Gockel in Switzerland, uodertoc to put the hypothesis to an ‘apermental ext. y that time aletroope were mach mare ‘efned and relisble than the ald-ashioned gle type. Pr-enero . ot a nal ie som meter wth intent end it two very iy Wal in 1909, He reacted eave with ttl wires held under tense by aight quarts Ser (1-3) ‘When thee, the two wien would feped eath othe, a (Bo seyrtion ld be mesure by mens of «micescpe. In 1910 Waele fcr tothe top of te Ef Pver th 192 Conk! wed ssa iontraent t« blloo ant Neither fund tthe hed ext. Tho rte of dnhars di ot decease with ated, or last id ot drama fat at ed eta oe ‘was the situation when Hess beeame interested in the eo ad ited serie ballon fights ht clea a {ememerahsanent sf Avant, it ie slctrarpee wee of the Wal type, castle wilh particle. Two of the thre insvumest hd ight ct tht the inteaal i proae eel constant anon Crea, he ayo Ui cents wan dependet of alte, (Th pny 7}. \ Seeenees A retin fn eter pace a ‘because the number of oe prs pradaced in given volun feat ‘by a given intensity of rdition i proportion to the es eres Tsar lays produced — and neutralized — by twon one pan tive and one negative. Hence the tem ion pai) ‘A en agar cen tute tmospher, Het found thatthe iovzatin became semenhat weaker aft, Indiatal by slower rts af setae daharg Unguction ably, there ws aradiaton emanating fe the eats cart. Bot above 2,00 fet the tra revered itself and te iiation been o increase gradually with attade, a though the balloon were ‘moving Lovard te source ofthe ining adaton talea of ray {rom Indo, at 1600 feet the cstmciymn mere dschatag bout fou tne alr than they had a ground led I was in fonder io explain this unexpected inceae that Howe palate ‘diation falling upon the earth from somewhere beyond the stencphere, ‘Mi wumption was certainly «bel one, and many year were to poss before it became geneally cceptd, Fst of al, ober ‘exprimentore had to enc the Gangs pated by Hem, Whe they di, they fund tbat the laren of rdtion engi with tude continued wll above 16000 fst. Especially otewerthy vere the daring ballon Tights carried out by W. Kobliatr of Germany betwee 1918s 1919. In hs ight ue reached & mas ‘sm alae of aboat 2,000 fet, where fod an in ‘adition considerably stronger than that detected by Hem. tes revolutionary —explaations for the slurred ioizatnn C.T.R. Wiloo, the inventor of the cloud chamber and oot a he leading experts incon pheaomene, nugget tht the radia tion wis produced by thunderoena high up ia the atmosphere. ‘of raiactive gs. (Some radioactive auttane, chard, lemeat 86, wer known to exit in the gas stain) Tor ee ean, these rdioatve asa bad a ndency to eancatat atea Coumie Raye copper layer ofthe atmopher, they wood explain the incense Senization a higher altitudes. ‘On bth of thse esaumptions the intensity ofthe unknown radiation shuld vary according to weather eontos, it should ‘iowa di not occur tall ines, and it was hardly coneivable ‘het the ditrtin of the Repetitive ea i he ‘linmpbere would rein eontant at al mes of Ue day oF Year td through al changes of weather. Now, Hess alread pointed fut the apparent absence of woch intensity variation, and ller ‘nvesiatioas confirmed bia ndings. Cleey, dsite diangre- teat sed uncertainties de to the itd ecaraoy ofthe inatre toeatein ut at the tine, the radiation was onthe whos remarkably uiform. Te came by day and by night, nummer and winter, ‘ino bie, with itl cbnage from oe day to he next, and with Title change from one place to enober at te ax alia, ‘The work of Millikan and Wegener Sli, ot ll physic wee sid. Mit ht! ang te ‘Mepis was Robert A Milan, fear of pis tthe al Tomi Insts of Tecnology. He nd bis calabro died to cane for tennves whee he expres ate ete by Hw ad eter workers were cect, wthr there sty wre cmpiing rao to ow nthe viene of aiton Trou ovter pect There wna sro of rearabl expiants carved oat betwen 1923 end 1925, volving mesurenent ade der water at well ana igh alto. Miter’ esperments Convinel msl and nal eeryone ee i the sete com- ‘Sumy tnt toe rane fancy Hom wwe fone yond the ers atmo, And twas Milan who av te nn st doabis aboot th existence of oars were apparently dapeled by an esptiment perform at Mir Lake A raion fa oer space * ‘aoa Arrownend Late m the San Bernardino Tange of southern Calfernin. The eespative alte ofthe lke ar 1100 nd 5100 fet. To any rain passing vty Urowgh the atone pore, the additional 6,100 feet a aie above Arowhead Lake ould represent an absorbing masa ger unit ate af lake era ‘equivalent to ft of water. by sinking his slerosep to various ‘dept in the two lke, Milian found that “within the limits uf ‘mera Stor, every reghng im Arrownend Lake te ‘onde t a reading six fet frtber down in Muir Lake, thos how that th xpd ome fn deal fom above and et thei orgn neil outside the layer of atmeapve bate Ue level of the two Ike,” ‘Amore dead explanation of the argument on which Mil an bused his cousin appear ia Fig. Int, As Totnot, i sould be pinta wat that is urgent le rier foxproot at ‘opel correct. Fo eons dined in Chap. 8 equal macs ber ant area of air and writer dn nt absorbs acy the sone fretion of cosmic rays. Had the experimental data been mote scours than the sat of the at permite at he time, Milken would have detected diflrener between readings in Arvmbend Lake and readings 6 fet farter down in Mule Lake: Conceivably ‘Bie fading might hve prevent Ln ona tething he eared cenclsint ‘The wrk of Milka’ eam made sory nt only bean a the acientie reals obainod bat lo because ofthe novel ed ingenioas techniques employed. Aa important innovation ws the ‘pplation of wounding batoora to cami-rey esearch, Hes and Kokihiratr bad had to accompany tee eletomyes inorder to hrrve thm. The we of unmanto balla line eth he danger and the high cost of mannidallon fights. Milton’ etropes, masterpieces of raidoem ar senivty er ‘bre aloft by to balons; ata erin ait one the leona ‘ould burst and the other woul then bring th euipent gently ‘mck wo earth. During the igh, «simple deve ‘continously "Son Appi.a wo Commie Rave Aen fm se : CC A See epee pa SI cern On i ‘hosp agen epi one eirsghosn \ “unprecedented degree of perfection by the German physi Exich Fegeer end his group. To thee sett we owe some of the moat ‘courte monmarements ever made of coamic-ay inition as 8 faedon of lie ad dope (Figs 1-3 wad 1-0), P15 Inlet comic rp aca spb depth a ‘eared by Rete eds gop wt ale tre dies The ‘cepa spor al etna ue pe a ‘he grave these, Tvl ave tener oo ein odo by xe rsa ct od tte ‘Sram neue he coy ey toned abe ip 1-4 Pape o Ma's eprint Me Lake an Aroha {ak eutropha tare it {ie ones gt ch fra on ‘hove le evel Mi ae mt vers ae tla po eet ‘aoc tel apr ui ee i ater a comm pt Seay Tm cml in yr nt es ‘oe If bomover, wow ay (he lta) were rented in the age, Se Sco Real wo nd oe yt a2 Cowie Reys sia —— Hint orctmimtase Seton cneryeitcnanet aspen Scoccenngtnnsseaonctomeitions I Atoms and radiations 2 Unley ait may we, no seriou allempt was made to find out ‘whut comic aye actualy we unl 18 year He's dncorce OF cour, it would have been dil to emily theaters ot ‘aio rans with the compsrativaly crude prince lease then avaiable The metho wed so wozeaflly in sade fe example, Xaye and radinctivity could wot be apn to cama rays. Keays and rudoectvity eam fm welldfned sours tnd ‘ete subject to experimental conta oa lboratory. Cnmisrys, om the other hand cmd wo ee fre everywtere, They cold ‘ot be turned on and lf at will ar X-rays could, And, ule a sample of radioactive matin the sonee af coc cope nee {naceble, not toy unknowa. More iat, at pound ler, here it would have bon ent to ty the, the niin eles "IL 24 ye tran 14, tt He ss bl Pin hp rb dre.enna 2 u Counie Raye cami rays were excnlingy small compared to those cased by ‘Aide from practical difulten, however, ther was Hite incentive to investigate the orble of the nat af eer rouse most sceatiteElieved they ally Knew the answer What ware the reaos forthe prevaling misconceptions about cule ays And whut were te ih Debind the experiment, ‘gu in 1929, tht eventual edt ou preset uderatanding of recall wliat was koown in 1929 about atoma and radiations Atom the 16 years after Ho's dinover, pics had achieved much clearer understanding of semi ttre. ey hae tht stows coon of a comparatively hevy,psitvay charged nals turroanded by @ eoud af negatively charged lccons of neat Deggble mas, Also, they ed disovered that clowial pyson could provide no aatfctory description of Uh beter of lec ‘toon in atoma, andthe hed developed new dy — kaon 0 vantum machanies —to deal with that and other toa pe. ‘Afr atomic uc, various investigators had measured thee nase, clectric charge, and apprormate tices. Very Hil wan ‘own aboot thar strates, boweves Alter the discovery a aio, bata east the nl of heavier deen did For example, occasionally enoceus of radium disinepatad yp laneouly info mules of radon aod» clea of blir called salah parte a) ‘has, the radium nuseus was nota “simple” patie, More- rst al tw hone 10 Jorn gape pare ‘ould breakup the al of certain element euch a ito aad ‘aus them to ect pave partis — prone — ident with Alana and reditions “ Iydrogen nue. There were speculations hat all nuel wore ferme om the same Dulding boca Indeed, sine ueat ‘mses were known to be nearly wholenumber multiple of the ‘proton andthe (practically rol) electron Bot wintins didnot sczep thin bypass withnat mie ving because they wero well wat that i presented ¢mamber of serosa. The puzale of the contin of ele as to be salve «few years later Whed the Uniti py omen Chadrick dincovered the neuron Then became clear tt mele ‘oat of prota ad nent! se Appear ‘A the tne Tam apking of the wo entdons efrr dos tow, to 6 variety of difleat physical poebomton baring ‘tan features in common. One ofthe mon portant share ints of any radiations its energy. All radiations ee eaegy carves and they wil give up part or all of thie energy to ta svproprine abaorber. tn aay cases the edad energy can bo Aleteced diet i the fora of hata inthe see exam of an ‘hint oneal to bright enlghe Physica generally distinguished between two road groupe of radiations: cypuscaar and dermagntic. Corp rate, ‘on ince ete rayt (2) hgh ped lsu emit i the ‘pontanous decay of carta radioactive atoms; w cay, o bes ‘deco de wpotanoous day of ranting aaa ad ‘eticlly accelerated parle sch as eathade rays, which are tlecttna ete hy he negetine satu roth sng te elect dncarge in a vacuum tue. Elccemognticrdiatonn included vile light, infared end leave rey, Xe, aod ‘emma rays (7). Gamma rays are among the prods rae, ‘tive decay, and they are itt smultancoly with fayea earlier year, the man diferene beten the tan ne ‘traditions appeared tobe tat eoxporculr ray were parties sd electromagnetic rays were wave. By the late 192s, however, Ane eveopenent of quantum phys tad brought about dante revision of this vow. Physicist raed tht all ays behave in (Particles of electromagnetic radiations bad been named lon) ‘The conept of womething tat behaves both aa wave and ‘pasties diflealt to grsp;fortunstly, however its not emcne tal wo our dicuson. Ast tars out, in fac, cme rays contain nly photons aud wher part of very Nigh ergy hase wave ‘hrc are never dominat. Ts a what flows me ea fowet about waves and take the view that serpunlr a well ot tlectemagntic aye consist of invidas! particles, ct quana Even though, by 1929, the fundamental discon between particles and waves had disapeared, it was stl convenient itis cow —to mainain the teaitonlcastifention between core [ptolar age and lectisnapnic aos. Alleorpuscular rays ar parts to whic a deficite mast can be asia (2.1 X10 gram fr an slot in ny ba {6.68 x 10- gram for a elim nocews ina epartie hou)! The kinetic energy, oF emery of motion exch particle depends ‘ona velosty a ml of cure, oso i at and the vse vary comiderabl. Particles of the Lad found in any corpusaler ‘adios travel at “relativistic” venir (dat a Pcon comparable tothe vloity of ligh).* According to the laws of reaivic, a8 opposed to clase, machanin, no atria Ce psa) particle can ever reach the veloty of light. about 30,00 klretry/iec in a vecuun), even though approaches {his veloc more and move lly a ie Moe energy nceae, On the other hand, the photons af electromagnetic radiations Ant pennants man Although ng er lite cere, Fe yore o 1, Aponte B. eo Aloms and raisins n Atay ates ot ot ght. Moreover, ldhough partes offsite mate may atl nating texte prices when they are “stopped” by an aber, photows dappar altogether Uy, fn fxanpe, trmafering the nergy to destrons or alone ie All electromagnetic rediatons are slike in another resol hey ‘noma rom the acelerataltoton of ect charge: What Aiskingisen one typeof eetromagnetcreiation fom mother np he ifn dal eae the Poon, Photons of vale ight are more energetic tha infrared photo nd ee ‘energetic han utravislet photons: hear n tn, re lene sougee han X-ray photos; and thelr are les eaeeeic than ray photon, ‘f te radiations known pir to Ue dicoery of cami ny hoo emitted by radinctive substances hd the higho ene, nar the course of individual «pst, parite and rey ‘hotoon ae of the order of millon of dec ole. By contrat, photons of visible light have ener ofthe anor 10 tse ‘oka. (Obe eletron vol, abbeevited e isthe Linc eegy ot an electron acelerated by « potential difrence of ne al! Conc pysles lnvalen much greater energie, which ae ‘measured in milo of elton vote (MeV) billions econ volts Be). {nization by corpuscular rays ABT have lend nat rom the wo ofthe nett entry je ‘nad ben the common practice of phys to detect certain alae ‘ons by thi property of ining gas. By the late 19a the ‘manner in which diferent types of radiation inze gaa wos well ‘undertood. Ths matter is of fundamental impertane to cay Sees vf winthapplesomena; for antl resayur sne, the only means of studying coamic radiation was through is Foci eet om name Hones, T mnt ak tot ny tees