High Frequency Rays of Cosmic Origin I. Sounding Balloon Observations at Extreme Altitudes

Abstract

Discharge rate of an electroscope at altitudes from 5 to 15.5 km.—Four specially designed instruments, each comprising a recording electroscope, thermometer and barometer and each weighing but 190 gr were sent up with sounding balloons from Kelly Field, Texas. Three were recovered and of these two had satisfactory records of their flight during which they reached altitudes of 11.2 and 15.5 km, respectively. A comparison of the recorded electroscope reading at the 5 km level during ascent with the reading at the same level during descent shows that the average discharge rate of the electroscopes while above the 5 km level was about three times their discharge rates at the surface of the earth, and corresponded to an average rate of production of ions of 46.2 ions per cc per sec. This is only 25 percent of the value to be expected from the observations of Hess and of Kolhörster and constitutes definite proof that there exists no penetrating radiation of cosmic origin having an absorption coefficient as large as 0.57 per meter of water.