A Critical Examination of the Gravitational Theory of the Origin of Cosmic Rays

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and physical sciences Mathematical and physical sciences, 1950-12, Vol.204 (1077), p.278-294
• Main Author: Gething, P. J. D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cosmic rays; Earth; Elementary particles; Energy spectrum; Kinetics; Magnetic fields; Particle acceleration; Particle energy; Speed; Velocity
• ISSN: 1364-5021; 0080-4630; 1471-2946; 2053-9169
• DOI: 10.1098/rspa.1950.0173

The observational data which any theory of the origin of primary cosmic radiation should explain and the comparative merits of the various theories so far propounded are examined. In particular, Milne’s suggestion concerning a possible gravitational acceleration in intergalactic space is considered in detail, and his somewhat involved analysis is replaced by a simpler method of derivation by means of an alternative time-scale. The energy spectrum and possible total intensity of gravitationally accelerated material are examined; it is shown that an expression can be obtained for the former which is consistent with cosmic-ray data, but because the world-model considered is not sufficiently sharply defined, no order of magnitude can be obtained for the latter. It thus appears that a gravitational theory of cosmic radiation can account for most of the main features of the observational data, and as regards the remaining features, although the present theory is incomplete, it presents no actual inconsistencies with observation.