Physicists Conducting Research on Cosmic Rays And Their Relation to Nuclear Disintegration

Nuclear disintegration as brought about by the action of cosmic rays on dense materials has been the subject of long research at the New Research Laboratory. One of the purposes of the experiments is to determine the size of the nucleus of an atom of any particular substance. In the course of their investigation the scientists also hope to find out if there are any other cosmic ray particles in addition to high-speed electrons.

The experiments are based upon a generally accepted theory that the cosmic rays (high speed electrons, etc.), which are traveling toward the earth, cause a slight disintegration of the nuclei of the atoms of a substance through which they pass. The collision of a high speed electron with the nucleus knocks electrons out of it. The precipitation of these minute nuclear particles is known as a "shower."

The research men will endeavor to find out the size of the nuclei of a given material by the frequency of the showers. If it is possible to determine the number of particles contained in one shower, the scientists consider it likely that they will be able to learn much in regard to the properties of these precipitations.

It is believed that there are several types of cosmic ray particles, in addition to the high speed electrons, which enter our atmosphere from space. Millikan holds that photons, which also enter our atmosphere from without but unlike the electrons leave no trace of their passage, collide with the nuclei of inolecules in the air and cause a certain amount of disintegration of those nuclei. A shower would then be produced similar to those of the high speed electrons.

"Our discoveries so far would seem to indicate that the long-hoped for decomposition of the atom is not an impossibility," stated Jabez C. Street, instructor in Physics and director of this research, when asked to comment on the possibilities of the work. "Since the photon leaves no track, it loses none of its energy in passing through the air. It there fore has much more energy with which to disintegrate the nuclei than the electron. As a result of this fact, it has a high efficiency in bombarding nuclei. It remains therefore only to discover the practical application of this fact."