Cosmic 100

Dr Sean Paling
Head of Boulby Underground Laboratory, Science and Technology Facilities Council

Presented by University of Birmingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Boulby Underground Laboratory, University of Bristol, School of Physics, The Cerenkov Telescope Array, Durham University, Department of Physics, Highgate School , Ilford County High School, Essex, King’s College, London, Department of Physics, University of Leeds, School of Physics and Astronomy, Prior Pursglove College, University of Sheffield, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, Canterbury

Professor Alan Watson
Professor of Physics, University of Leeds

Exhibit blog

Accelerating Ping-Pong Balls

The last few weeks have been pretty busy in this neck of the woods, as the university term came to an end and there were lots of student presentations to listen to and assessments to gather in. However, peace has now broken out, and last week I was at an ideas ‘charette’ (it’s a kind of brainstorming event…) to do with science outreach.....

Auger Collaboration. 2010 Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter. Astroparticle Physics 34, 314-326
Erlykin AD, Wolfendale AW. 2010 Long Term Time Variability of Cosmic Rays and Possible Relevance to the Development of Life on Earth. Surv. Geophys. 31, 383-398
Aharonian et al. (HESS Collaboration). 2011 Primary particle acceleration above 100 TeV in the shell-type supernova remnant RX J1713.7 - 3946 with deep H.E.S.S. observations. Astron. Astrophys. 531, id.C1

We spend our lives being bombarded by sub-atomic particles. Each second, about five travel through the top of your head. Sub-atomic particles are produced in the Earth’s atmosphere by cosmic rays, which are high-energy particles that start out life in deep space.

An artist's impression of cosmic rays arriving in the Earth's atmosphere. Credit: NASA

Cosmic rays were discovered 100 years ago, but their origin still remains a mystery. In 1912, Victor Hess made his discovery by taking simple radiation detectors up in a hydrogen balloon. Now these particles, their origin and their effects on Earth are studied with experiments up mountains, in space, underground and in schools.

How it works

Cosmic rays are important for understanding the energy balance of the universe and the evolution of its building blocks. They are thought to come from some of the most violent places in the universe, such as jets of material launched from black holes or the remains of supernovae explosions.

On Earth, cosmic rays almost certainly played a role when life first began and during subsequent human evolution. They may also cause lightning and might even have a role in climate change.

This exhibit, which involves school teachers and pupils, presents experiments which study cosmic rays, including Auger, HESS and CTA. Deep in the Boulby Mine in Yorkshire, the SKY-ZERO experiment is investigating the role of cosmic rays in cloud formation by performing controlled experiments. In schools, research has concentrated on measuring cosmic ray flux on the ground and in space.