The measurement of the energy of cosmic rays - II—The curvature measurements and the energy spectrum

Abstract

Both the penetrating power of the cosmic rays through material ab­sorbers and their ability to reach the earth in spite of its magnetic field, make it certain that the energy of many of the primary particles must reach at least 10 11 e-volts. However, the energy measurements by Kunze, and by Anderson, using cloud chambers in strong magnetic fields, have extended only to about 5 x 10 9 e-volts. Particles of greater energy were reported, but the curvature of their tracks was too small to be measured with certainty. We have extended these energy measurements to somewhat higher energies, using a large electro-magnet specially built for the purpose and described in Part I. As used in these experiments, the magnet allowed the photography of tracks 17 cm long in a field of about 14,000 gauss. The magnet weighed about 11,000 kilos and used a power of 25 kilowatts.