Difference between revisions of "Cosmics for High School Teachers"
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==What is a Cosmic Ray== | ==What is a Cosmic Ray== | ||
Cosmic rays are particles originating outside the earth which hit the Eartch's atmosphere. 90% of the particles are protons. 9% are alpha particles (a helium atom without its electrons). 1% are electrons. | Cosmic rays are particles originating outside the earth which hit the Eartch's atmosphere. 90% of the particles are protons. 9% are alpha particles (a helium atom without its electrons). 1% are electrons. | ||
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=== Solar and Galactic === | === Solar and Galactic === | ||
Solar cosmic rays originate from the sun and have energies between 10 to 100 kilo-electron volts (keV = 1.6 e-16 Joules = amount of heat your body produces in 1e-18 seconds [1/1000 femto-seconds]). | Solar cosmic rays originate from the sun and have energies between 10 to 100 kilo-electron volts (keV = 1.6 e-16 Joules = amount of heat your body produces in 1e-18 seconds [1/1000 femto-seconds]). | ||
| − | Galactic cosmic rays are in | + | Galactic cosmic rays are in two categories; either galactic or extragalactic. Galactic |
| − | + | Extragalactic cosmic rays flow into our galaxy having energies beyond 10e15 eV (amount of energy your body creates in 1/1000 of a second). They are very rare with only 1 entering a square meter on the earth's surface per year. | |
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=== Primary and Secondary cosmic rays=== | === Primary and Secondary cosmic rays=== | ||
| + | === Oh-My-God- Cosmic rays=== | ||
==Where do Cosmic Rays come from== | ==Where do Cosmic Rays come from== | ||
==How do we detecto comsmic rays== | ==How do we detecto comsmic rays== | ||
Revision as of 21:27, 16 June 2007
The following is intended for an audience of High school teachers and their students.
What is a Cosmic Ray
Cosmic rays are particles originating outside the earth which hit the Eartch's atmosphere. 90% of the particles are protons. 9% are alpha particles (a helium atom without its electrons). 1% are electrons.
Solar and Galactic
Solar cosmic rays originate from the sun and have energies between 10 to 100 kilo-electron volts (keV = 1.6 e-16 Joules = amount of heat your body produces in 1e-18 seconds [1/1000 femto-seconds]). Galactic cosmic rays are in two categories; either galactic or extragalactic. Galactic Extragalactic cosmic rays flow into our galaxy having energies beyond 10e15 eV (amount of energy your body creates in 1/1000 of a second). They are very rare with only 1 entering a square meter on the earth's surface per year.