11 Facts About Cosmic radiation

Cosmic radiation rays are high-energy protons and atomic nuclei that move through space at nearly the speed of light.

Cosmic radiation rays were discovered by Victor Hess in 1912 in balloon experiments, for which he was awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics.

In common scientific usage, high-energy particles with intrinsic mass are known as "cosmic" rays, while photons, which are quanta of electromagnetic radiation are known by their common names, such as gamma rays or X-rays, depending on their photon energy.

Cosmic radiation found the ionization rate increased approximately fourfold over the rate at ground level.

Cosmic radiation concluded that high-energy primary cosmic-ray particles interact with air nuclei high in the atmosphere, initiating a cascade of secondary interactions that ultimately yield a shower of electrons, and photons that reach ground level.

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Cosmic radiation rays composed of charged nuclei heavier than helium are called HZE ions.

Cosmic radiation rays are responsible for the continuous production of a number of unstable isotopes, such as carbon-14, in the Earth's atmosphere through the reaction:.

Cosmic radiation rays have sufficient energy to alter the states of circuit components in electronic integrated circuits, causing transient errors to occur often referred to as "soft errors".

Cosmic radiation rays were investigated among other possible causes of the data corruption, but were ultimately ruled out as being very unlikely.

Cosmic radiation rays pose a threat to electronics placed aboard outgoing probes.

Cosmic radiation rays have been implicated in the triggering of electrical breakdown in lightning.