Abstract
IT is important to decide whether or not the main sources of the cosmic ray particles are external to our galaxy. An external source seems, at first sight, to be established by the observed isotropy of the cosmic rays incident on the earth. But it has been claimed by a number of authors that this isotropy is simply a consequence of a magnetic field assumed to exist in interstellar space. The basis for this claim is that a single particle of energy n and charge e is deflected through an appreciable angle after travelling a distance d across a magnetic field of intensity H, provided For n equal to 1010 eV., e equal to the electronic charge (4·77 × 10-10 E.S.U.), and d equal to the radius of the galaxy (∽3 × 1022 cm.), the necessary value of H is about 10-15 gauss. This value may be compared with the average interstellar field of about 10-20 gauss that would result if (i) every star possessed a magnetic moment equal to the commonly quoted magnetic moment for the sun (∽ 1·5 × 1034 C.G.S.) ; (ii) the stellar magnetic dipoles were all aligned parallel to each other.
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References
Blackett, P. M. S., Nature, 159, 658 (1947).
Hoyle, F., Mon. Not. Roy. Ast. Soc., 106, 384 (1946).
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DUNGEY, J., HOYLE, F. Origin of Cosmic Rays. Nature 162, 888 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/162888a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/162888a0
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