Concept information
Preferred term
extensive air shower
Definition(s)
- An air shower is an extensive (many kilometres wide) cascade of ionized particles and electromagnetic radiation produced in the atmosphere when a primary cosmic ray (i.e. one of extraterrestrial origin) enters the atmosphere. When a particle, which could be a proton, a nucleus, an electron, a photon, or (rarely) a positron, strikes an atom's nucleus in the air it produces many energetic hadrons. The unstable hadrons decay in the air speedily into other particles and electromagnetic radiation, which are part of the particle shower components. The secondary radiation rains down, including x-rays, muons, protons, antiprotons, alpha particles, pions, electrons, positrons, and neutrons. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_shower_(physics))
Broader concept(s)
In other languages
-
French
URI
http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/MDL-NJW6JRTB-0
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