Cosmic rays have fascinated mankind since their discovery by Victor Hess in 1912. But many of us are blissfully unaware of these cosmic bullets continuously hitting our planet. This cosmic flux has the same intensity as starlight but cannot be detected with our ordinary senses. Yet it has profound consequences to life on Earth and our understanding of the physical universe.
During much of our history this cosmic rain went undiscovered. The story of the discovery of cosmic rays and the scientists that participated in unraveling the mystery is not well known. This tale is full of adventure, intrigue, and surprises. In the first seven chapters of the book the story of these early scientists and their endeavors related to discovering cosmic rays is told. It is wonderfully illustrated with old photos and drawings.
In the second half of the book the current status of cosmic rays is related. They are rigorously being studied by a variety of means in space and in remote places such as Antarctica. Networks of monitoring stations in operation around the world record data on a daily basis. There are also numerous educational programs and monitoring sites at schools and other institutions in many cities.
Research methods using new and more sophisticated methods are being employed by countries around the globe to study the most energetic cosmic rays. These Earth based experiments hope to capture all the details of these extraordinary events.
In recent years ideas, only imagined in this field, have become a real possibility. For example the dreams of applying cosmic rays to view the interior of active volcanoes, nuclear reactors, or detecting nuclear contraband have been realized.
Scientists are also looking at the emerging field of cosmic neutrino astronomy. These and other ideas may shed light how cosmic rays fit into our understanding of dark matter, dark energy and the birth of the universe.