Brooklyn Technical High School - Blueprint Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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deed, this last fact strongly suggests that the rays are formed throughout all space. We leave now our logical progression and come to that phase of the research work which cannot, at present, be sub- stantiated, for the mystery of the origin of cosmic rays remains exactly that-a mystery. However, two of the foremost scientists of our day have advanced theories which may be combined into a daring vision. The theories will be ex- plained briefly here. The old distinction between matter and energy is discarded. The two may be interffhanged, though their total must re- main the same. Now let us imagine a star traveling through space. Out of the emptiness about it, it draws to itself soli- tary atoms. Little by little its mass and density increase. As the pressure on the center of the star rises to fantastic heights, the atomic systems can no longer with- stand it, and electrons and protons com- bine. The matter disappears, but energy is liberated. This energy is used to heat the star until its entire contents are in a gaseous state. Then, when further energy is created, it escapes as radiation. How- ever, if all the energy so created remained in space, the sky would be everywhere ablaze with light. Therefore, from the energy of the radiation, new atoms are constantly being formed. These eventu- ally are attracted to a star, to repeat the cycle. It is at this point the conversion of energy into matter-that cosmic rays are thought to be formed. To corroborate this theory, -it has been pointed out that the formation of the four most common ele- ments in space would allow for the four wave lengths in which cosmic rays are suspected to exist. The theory, when set against the mil- lions of years and vast distances associ- ated with the galactic systems, forms a breathtaking panorama of the creation and death of the stars. Even more, it shows us the wonder of mankind's true greatness. For, unable to leave his own tiny planet, unaided by anything but his own intellect man has forced aside one by one, the veils with which nature sur- rounds herself, and with the knowledge so painfully won, has gained mastery over the world in which he lives. 13

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COSMIC RAYS By JOHN ,....: ECAUSE of its inherent mysteries nothing is more fascinating in current sci- entific research than the i , study of cosmic rays. The investigations combine pre- cise experimentation with reasoning and with the romance and grandeur of astronomy. The rays themselves, in spite of all the characteristics that have been attributed to them, appear to be either infinitesimal- ly small, charged particles, or waves of extremely small length. The present in- vestigations concern themselves with de- termining their exact nature and the meth- od of their origin. In order to understand the study, we must first learn something about the instruments employed. The simplest of these is the electro- scope. It consists of a metallic rod in a container, but insulated from it, from which two metallic leaves are suspended. If an electric charge is applied, it travels through the rod to the leaves. These swing out because they both acquire the same charge. It was found that no matter how perfect the insulation, the leaves soon began to collapse, thus indicating the loss of the charge. The assumption was made ,that the air was filled with ions, that is, atoms with an electric charge, Those ions with the proper sign were attracted to the electroscope, where they were neutralized, thus gradually robbing the instrument of its charge. To account for the ions, it was thought that particles or rays traveling through the atmosphere collided with atoms and ion- ized them. These rays may be counted by the 12 SCHEPP, 85 Geiger-Muller counter. It consists of a wire stretched within a metal container. A voltage is applied across the two com- ponents almost high enough to cause an arc. Now any ions inside the device will be attracted to one terminal, and thus cause an electric current to flow. After suitable amplification, this operates a counting device. By the use of a third device, the Wil- son Cloud Chamber, we may actually see the path of the ray. A glass cylinder is fitted with a piston and filled with warm air saturated with water. When the piston is drawn down, the air expands, and in so doing is cooled. It is now supersatu- rated and if possible, the water will con- dense. To do this, however, it must have a nucleus, which may be either a particle of dust or an ion. If we have taken care to purify the air, we can see the path of cosmic rays by watching water condense on the ions in the trail of the rays. Armed with these devices, scientists began investigations. At first it was thought that the rays came from radio- active material in the earth, especially since one such material, radium, had been discovered only a short time before. It was found, however, that the particularly penetrating rays sought became weaker when the instruments were apparently surrounded by radioactive material. Later, balloon ascensions showed that the in- tensity of the rays increased with altitude, and this led scientists to believe that the rays originated from beyond our own planet. Since little variation in intensity is noticed at various times of the day, it is doubtful whether they come from any one heavenly body, such as the sun. In-

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W CHALLENGE ACCEPTED By HERBERT E. LOWE, ss, scribe 2 -jr VERY EVENING at Liber- 'r V ty Lake, to the strains of classical music, 'the colored 2-ll fire would supplement the A , . Q :QQ I lltl, . ',f1 . I A M U vt f orchestral arrangement and 1 2 I rifilill ri, I tual: spectators would sigh en- raptured. That was at the World's Fair and in 1940. The colored fire was combusting chemicals carried to their peak above the tumbling fountains by rockets. Rockets are containers which are propelled by the generation of gases of high pressure and these gases are in turn generated by combusting material . . . rocket fuel. Man grabs a box and cries, I have a rocket! How shall I send it soaring into the sky ? The doors of the laboratory fly open and fling a challenging invitation, I am the way. Come! Man enters and gropes. In time the delicate glistening tubes contain sulphur, charcoal, zinc dust, potassium nitrate or chlorate, and salts of barium and strontium, Why has he chosen these from the thousands of avail- able compounds? Come! Let's see. There, the sulphur bubbles and burns with a slow steady blue flame, He adds this to the potassium chlorate. A hammer descends! . . . the explosion leaves par- ticles of burning sulphur. Now, throw in the zinc dust, the charcoal. Good, we have the noise, the explosion, and also . . . a flash of flame. The strontium! The barium! And sodium! Don't hit it. Touch a match. Ah, Man has burned his 14 hand. That sudden flare! The roar! See? Smoke has billowed forth. Did he feel the air rush past? He did. He's reaching for the mortar. Water! Pestle! Nitrate, not chlorate-chlorate explodes! Zinc dust! Then the rest! I have it now. Watch, soon it will dry. Sun it! Dry it! Grind it! Wet it! Mould it! Now! The tube! The head! The stabilizer! Shaky hands! Flickering lights! Man is at the climax of his search. He mumbles, have a rocket. This fuel will make it 'fly. I light the match, the fuse. Point it up. This way, not that, for it will hit the house! Up, not down! The noise! The swish! Do you hear it? It's working. The gases pour out. The rocket rises. Up, high up! Fifty feet! One hundred feet! Two hundred feet! The secondary fuse is burn- ing. It has burned to the explosives' chamber. The rocket blows up and col- ored lights fly in all directions. Are there tears in Man's eyes? Does he rejoice in his creation? No, he is a brute. An un- feeling, senseless brute! And so, Man, as in his other fields, has groped his way through the darkness to his present height of knowledge. Many believe that in rocketry he has but reached his first step, that in the future better fuels will be discovered and instead of colored lights, the chamber will carry powders of war and destruction. Maybe. Later they will carry men-to the planets -to the stars. Man will once more enter the laboratory doors and accept the chal- lenge of the unknown.