Abstract
Cosmic ray showers are cascades initiated by cosmic rays interacting in the atmosphere. Cascades had already been observed in the 1920s when a single track belonging to a charged particle was observed to split into two tracks. The observations of showers led to the development of the electromagnetic cascade theory in the 1930s with the participation of many of the famous physicists of the time. Towards the end of that decade Pierre Auger and collaborators discovered the extensive air showers [236]. These are huge cascades initiated by particles of energy 106 GeV as estimated in that reference.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Praxis Publishing Ltd, Chichester, UK
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stanev, T. (2010). Cosmic ray showers. In: High Energy Cosmic Rays. Springer Praxis Books. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-85148-6_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-85148-6_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-85147-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-85148-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)