Cloud chamber photo of a \shower\" of electrons & positrons produced by a cosmic ray. The primary cosmic rays are atomic nuclei which collide with ato
Cloud chamber photo of a \shower\" of electrons & positrons produced by a cosmic ray. The primary cosmic rays are atomic nuclei which collide with atoms in the upper atmosphere. A common product of these collisions is the neutral pion, which rapidly decays into pairs of gamma rays. In this picture, one of these gamma-rays initiates the cascade of electron-positron pairs at the top of the chamber. The electrons & positrons curve in different directions in the chamber's magnetic field. They also produce more gamma rays, through radiation & annihilation; when these interact with two horizontal sheets of lead (black) the process repeats itself, regenerating the shower each time."
Size: 2870px × 6217px
Photo credit: © Science Photo Library / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: chamber, cloud, cosmic, electron-positron, gamma, image, odyssey, pair, particle, photo, physics, pion, ray, shower
