By Olga Zakutnyaya, They are called the “Wanderers of the Universe” and traces of the most energetic processes taking place in our world. The beginning of August marks 100 years of the discovery of cosmic rays by Austrian scientist Victor Francis Hess. He conducted his first measurements in August 1912 while flying up a few kilometers in a balloon. Today, numerous space experiments are devoted to studying cosmic rays. The term “cosmic rays” may be misleading. In fact, rays proper – high energy photons – make up only a tiny part of space ionizing radiation. The most part of cosmic rays are charged particles accelerated to very high energies. Their main part consists of the nuclei of hydrogen, also known as protons, and of the nuclei of helium (two protons). The term “cosmic rays” was coined by American physicist Robert Andrews Millikan when it became clear that this radiation was coming from space. Tags: Russia, scientific researches, Sci-Tech, space, Opinion & Analysis, World, Читать далее, Source: Voice of Russia.
