Comments on: Attack of the galactic subatomic particles

By: John Paradox

John Paradox — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:26:05 +0000

@WM:

Yeah, the Cosmic Rays that mutated the Fantastic Four (and the Power Cosmic of the Silver Surfer), and gamma rays that mutated Bruce Banner to The Hulk.
Then, Spider-Man was mutated via a ‘radioactive’ (Gamma?) spider.

One of the reasons I love reading the occasional Radioactive Man (The Simpsons spinoff)

J/P=?

By: WM

WM — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:37:53 +0000

On a tangential note —- While reading this post, I thought of something which the pop culture geek in you may have also thought of. Cosmic rays, gamma rays, and Marvel. (I seem to remember a What If? where Dr. Banner’s gamma irradiation was used to undo Ben Grimm to mundane form.)

By: Sili

Sili — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:02:04 +0000

For those asking about the EM/gamma-ray/cosmic ray mix-up, go read Astroprof – he’s doing a series on just that issue at the moment.

By: HolidayNova

HolidayNova — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:25:07 +0000

When they say weak source of gamma rays they don’t mean weak gamma rays. Weak Cosmic rays would make sense and would mean low to no gamma rays. Gamma rays are the strongest form of EM radiation, they have so much energy (extremely high frequency) that they have a high probability of turning into matter anti matter pairs. But while they are gamma rays they are still definitely an extreme high energy form of light.

By: I'd rather be fishin'

I'd rather be fishin' — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:33:18 +0000

I saw it too and mentioned it to my physics teacher. He explained that the chart was in order of increasing energy, not just of the EM spectrum.

By: TheBlackCat

TheBlackCat — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:58:30 +0000

My high school chemistry professor had an EM spectrum poster on his wall that had cosmic rays. It was also in several of my textbooks, and in another poster at a science camp I went to when I was 7 or 8.

By: llewelly

llewelly — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:56:02 +0000

That damn electro-magnetic spectrum chart which depicted cosmic rays as if they were the highest energy part of the EM spectrum really got around. I saw it too.

By: Tim G

Tim G — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:15:38 +0000

I recall seeing cosmic rays listed on an electromagnetic spectrum chart as well. I think it was from my 10th grade (1986-1987) chemistry textbook.

By: Aharon Eviatar

Aharon Eviatar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:03:20 +0000

Yes we have studied CR for decades and they are still fascinating. Many of the first generation of space scientists such as Jim Van Allen and Harry Elliot (Harry died this year and will be commemorated with a symposium at Imperial College, London next week) started off in space to look at cosmic rays above the atmosphere, i.e. to see the primary. It also turns out that the inner Van Allen belt is caused by the albedo of cosmic rays, (CRAND=cosmic ray albedo neutron decay). We seem to have discovered something similar at Saturn with the Cassini spacecraft.
Thanks for your blog. I hope young people read it and disabuse themselves of the idea that science is a drag and contains beauty.

By: KC

KC — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:42:03 +0000

Carey – your mind is not paying tricks on you – I too remember seeing EM Spectrum charts that had cosmic rays listed on them. Robert Millikan, who I believe coined the term “Cosmic Rays”, incorrectly though of them as high energy photons.