Cosmic Ray

Cosmic rays are energetic particles originating from Outer space that impinge on Earth's atmosphere. Almost 90 of all the incoming Cosmic ray particles are simple protons, with nearly 10 being Helium nuclei , and slightly under 1 are heavier elements, electrons , or GAMMA ray photons. The term ray is a misnomer, as cosmic particles arrive individually, not in the form of a ray or beam of particles. However, when they were first discovered, cosmic rays were thought to be rays. When their particle nature needs to be emphasized, "cosmic ray particle" is written.

The variety of particle energies reflects the wide variety of sources. The origins of these particles range from energetic processes on the Sun all the way to as yet unknown events in the farthest reaches of the visible Universe. Cosmic rays can have energies of over 1020 ;eV, far higher than the 1012 to 1013 ;eV that man-made particle accelerators can produce. There has been interest in investigating cosmic rays of even greater energies.

Cosmic rays may broadly be divided into two categories, primary and secondary. The cosmic rays that arise in extrasolar astrophysical sources are primary cosmic rays; these primary cosmic rays can interact with interstellar matter to create secondary cosmic rays. The Sun also emits low Energy cosmic rays associated with Solar flares. The exact composition of primary cosmic rays, outside the Earth's atmosphere, is dependent on which part of the Energy Spectrum is observed. However, in general, almost 90 of all the incoming cosmic rays are protons, about 9 are helium nuclei and nearly 1 are electrons. The ratio of hydrogen to helium nuclei is about the same as the primordial Elemental abundance ratio of these elements in the universe.

1. Cosmic ray - New World Encyclopedia - Cosmic rays are energetic particles originating from space that impinge on Earth atmosphere. Almost 90 percent of all the incoming cosmic ray particles are protons, about 9
2. NASA Cosmicopia Cosmic Rays - May 20, 2008 LHCb measures its first cosmic ray muons CERN May 8, 2008 Joint ESA NASA team wins international award ESA April 3, 2008 No sun link to climate change BBC News
3. Cosmic Rays - Introduction - This site is intended for students age 14 and up, and for anyone interested in learning about our universe.
4. Cosmic Ray Detector - Muon Detector - Counting particles from - Build your own Muon Detector. Two selfmade Geiger-M ller counters are used to detect muon particles produced by cosmic rays.

1. 2010-08-30T16:47:14Z : Which Ray? Conflicting Data on High-Energy Cosmic Rays Leave Their Sou - Nature certainly has a way of one-upping the fruits of human ingenuity. Extreme astrophysical objects have long been known to accelerate the particles that make up cosmic rays to whopping energies that ... (Eureka! Science News)
2. 2010-08-26T10:54:04Z : Are Cosmic Rays Zapping Automotive Electronics? - Product Design Devel - sophisticated electronic microcontrollers to govern basic functions such as braking and speed some scientists say they are more vulnerable to cosmic ray upsets. The idea may sound like an episode from ... (Product Design & Development)
3. 2010-09-05T14:38:26Z : NASA s Chandra X-Ray Observatory Finds Cosmic Ghost - Thaindian.com - Sep 5, THAINDIAN NEWS The Chandra X-Ray Observatory of NASA has come across a cosmic activity that it has named cosmic ghost . The scientists who carried out the research believe that the cosmic ghost is ... (Thaindian.com)
4. 2010-08-26T09:49:39Z : Excitement Builds as GLAST Readies Its Gamma-ray Vision! - Hurricane V - What mechanism produces the stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts? How do solar flares generate high-energy particles? How do pulsars work? What is the origin of cosmic rays? and What else out ... (Hurricane Valley Journal)

1. 2010-09-05T15:37:51Z : Michelle L. Ness, MouseJunkie68 - @mainstgazette we really like Cosmic Ray 's Cafe. I never hear about it, the rotissery chicken is really great!
2. 2010-09-05T13:17:47Z : Aaditey Patil, Aaditey618 - NASA's Chandra X- ray Observatory located a cosmic "ghost" bit.ly/aEYf09 Very cool stuff!
3. 2010-09-05T03:50:15Z : Matt Heerdt, mlheerdt - Currently working up a style guide for Cosmic Patrol. Rockets! Robots! Ray guns!