(1) La radiation cosmique (2) Rayons cosmiques

Abstract

(1) THESE small books constitute the only connected account of cosmic rays which is available; and although the lectures on which they were based were delivered two years ago, the account given largely represents existing knowledge, and the problems stated remain mostly unsolved. The first part contains a general and historical account; the second deals with the technique and results of the counter-controlled Wilson chamber introduced by Prof. Blackett. This part contains the account of shower production. The third part is specially valuable. It provides a simplified treatment of the paths of electrified particles in. the magnetic field of the earth, and the consequent effect of the field on the distribution of cosmic rays over the earth. The original papers in which this theory was developed by Stormer, Lemaitre and Vallarta and others are difficult and in some cases inaccessible. The fourth part deals with the behaviour of very fast particles passing through matter. The details of the processes involved are still uncertain both in experiment and theory. They are at present the subject of intensive investigation, and some progress has been made, particularly in connexion with shower production.