BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy ABC of Astronomy – C Is for Cosmic Rays

Hundreds of cosmic rays zip through your body every minute. They're a danger to astronauts, and may damage the electronics of satellites and spacecraft. Some aren't cosmic, none are rays, and a few seem to be impossible. What are they and where do they come from?

ABC of Astronomy – C Is for Cosmic Rays

Very high energy cosmic rays aren't much affected by magnetic fields, so scientists can tell more about their energies and the direction they've come from. But only if they can detect them.

The Pierre Auger Oservatory is located high on the pampas of Argentina spread out over 3000 square kilometers. The incoming cosmic rays collide with air molecules and produce secondary rays that form an air shower. The observatory's detectors respond to the secondary particles. The scientists then use the collected information to work backwards to the energy and direction of the original ray.

Of all the things I knew about cosmic rays I never would have imagined that they could help explore an ancient pyramid. But by using cosmic rays a hidden chamber has been found in Egypt's Great Pyramid – without so much as disturbing a single stone.

An international team led by Kunihiro Morishima at Nagoya University in Japan made use of muons to explore the inside of the pyramid. Muons are high energy particles created in collisions between cosmic rays and Earth's atmosphere. They can not only penetrate deep into rock, but they also get absorbed at different rates depending on how dense the rock is. Are you beginning to guess what happened?

The team put muon detectors outside and inside the pyramid so they could see how much material the particles passed through. If there's less material, more muons make it to the detector. They used it to map cavities inside the pyramid, and found a previously unknown chamber, some 30 meters long, the first discovery for over a century.

The experts are still trying to work out what what the purpose the chamber was.

I wonder if there is anything special about the empty chamber except that it may be all empty or a shell except where the pharoah was buried.

Angie, It seems that it isn't even demonstrably a chamber, though definitely some kind of big empty space. Initial thoughts are that it might just be a leftover from the pyramid's construction. For example, a ramp to move massive roof blocks of the King's Chamber into place.

Something for egyptologists to ponder.

The pyramids are extraordinary and it is a wonder how the stone could be moved. It will be interesting to find out what the Egyptologists find out. Have you been to Egypt, Mona.

There is a place in Florida where a man built some incredible pyramidal like structures, by him self. He left no information about how he did it. in Florida