SOVIET PAPER ON THE STUDY OF COSMIC RAYS BY ROCKETS AND EARTH SATELLITES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A046400170001-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 1, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: January 16, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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-)--N FORMATION REPOWT INFORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
SUBJECT. Soviet Paper on the Study of Cosmic DATE DISTR. i6 January 1959
Rays by Rockets and Earth Satellites
NO. PAGES 1
.DATE OF,
PLACE &
and A. Ye. Chudakov entitled "Stud of Cosmic Rays b Rocket 'and Sputniks in
the USSR"
Comment.- Chudakov and Vernov in conjunction with other authors
have written on cosmic ray studies utilizing earth satellites c.f. Us ekhi
z"ch'eskilch. Nauk volume LXIII No. lb September 1957H
STATE X ARMY NAVY IX AIR
X FBI
I.N,FOR'MATION RIEPORT INFORMATION REPORT
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S~'. Vernov
STUDY OF COS16IC RAYS BY ROCKETS AND SFUTNIXS IN THE 4SSR
In the USSR study of cosmic rays by rockets was'started in 1947,
In the beginning, with the help of Geiger counters the number of
charged particles was measured, and form&tJ.oncf the Ilectron-phaton
component in the interaction of prima y particles oficosmic rays with
nuclei of light elements was investigated.
It was shown that in 1947, 1948, iqlt,a, and 195111the intensity
of cosmic rays, at the altitudes up to 75 km, was tie same and
didn't change more than by 5%. In 1949 the data on jhe photon intensity
outside the atmosphere were obtained. In order to measure the number of
high energy photons, one of us (A.E. Chudakov) proposed the method
permitting to carry out these measurements with a strong background of
charged particles.
It was found with the help of this apparatus t t at
the altitudes exceeding 50 km, the flux of phot;o1nWs ~wth the
energy of the order of 107 ev and more is 0.25 hot
The same apparatus Was used for photons measuring in the stratosphere
at various heights, and it was shown that at the heights of 20 Im, a
maximum intensity is 0-7 photons
am /sec
Ionisation produced by cosmic rays up to the al~itudes of 100 ka vw
measured in 1951. Measurements were carried out und#r various thickiwss
of absorbers 1 gr/ cm2 of steel, 15 cm of aluminum, ~ cm of lead.
Surrounding of the ionization chamber by lead licm thick leads to
increase of ionization 2-6 " 0.003 times, by 15 cm1of aluminium - 1.92 !~),02~
and by 15 am of aluminium, #- 1 cm of lead - 3.26 * 0-03 times- Difference
in the values of ionization during 3 rocket fligTts ~oes not exceed 2 + 3%.
Comparison of ionization and the number of part~cles in the stratospher*
and above the atmosphere shows that an average specific ionization of cosmic
ray particles considerably exceeds ionization of the~relativistic pLrtlele.
Relation of the average specific ionization to ionization of the re3Ativistic
particle is as follows:
20 km
50 km
-1.59
-2.16
o.o6)
.m7)
without
absorber
50 km
-1.68:; m6 - under the layer of aluminium 15 cm thick
WORET
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The great value of the specific ionization in the stratosphere can
be explained by existence of secondary heavy (suffici,ently slow) Particles.
?
sufficientlysmall. As one can see from the above-~nt= data, wban the
ionization chamber is positioned under the layer of fi~luminium 15 ca thick,
the average specific ionization approximately corres~onds to the results
expected on the basis of experiments at the hei ot ? km. Larp* value
-7T.-I-67 of the average ionization of the primary cosmic particles is due to the
This conclusion about a large average specific ionization of prinLry
cosmic particles was proved also by measuring bursts'in the pulse-type
ionization chambers on rockets.
These works on the cosmic ray study were carried out by one of us
In the preparation of electronics and radio-emilsion system there took
part P.V. Vakulov and B.A. Khvoless, in the measure"nts of the ni-her of
charged particles and bursts M.I. Fradkin, and in the photon measurements -
V.I. Solovjova.
On the basis of the experiments on the cosmic raLys carried out on the
rockets, there were prepared new measurements, part of which was fulfilled
during flights of the 2nd and 3rd Sputniks.
New.possibilities realized due to these sputniks, permit to find a n,ww
method to solve the following problems.
globe and consequently, to study the magnetic field of the Earth,
Due to a long duration of observations by the sputnik, one my hope to
find new components of cosmic radiation.
In this connection a particular attention must be drawn to the search
of photons in cosmic radiation. I
If the photon component will be found in cosmic rays a new
possibility to study the outer space arises. i
rays and determination of nuclei of various elements among particles of this
radiation.
Sufficiently long measurements on the sputniks permit to compare ths-c
in the intensity of these rays with those processes on the Fiarth and in the
cosmos, which caused these variations. i . . t
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In order to measure cosmic rays two identical instruments were placed
on the 2nd sputnik. Both instruments were absolutelylindependent from each
other. Therefore coincidence of results of these instruments permits to be
sure about normal behaviour of the apparatus during the flight.
Every instrument consisted of a counter of charged particles with a
length of 100 mm and diameter of 18 mm. The counters were surrounded an the
average by 10 grams per cm2 of matter. The operatingivoltage of the counter
(400 v) was provided with the help of semi-conducting~transformer supplied
by the battery of 6.5 v.
Both instruments included semi-conducting scalers. Each of these
instruments required a power of 0.1 watt. The total power supply was 0.15
watt. The power storage was sufficient for a continuous work for 200 hours.
Weight of one instrument including the batteries V. 2.5 kg- The
scheme of the instrument was discribed in the paper published in Usp.Fiz.
Nauk /l/.
During the sputnik flight the records of the both instruments coincided
with each other within the statistical accuracy nearly in the every cam.
When the sputnik flied over the USSR by "direct path" (motion from
south to north), altitude of its flight was nearly co4stant. At the notion
on "opposite path" the altitude continuously increased approximately f~rom
350 to 700 km. Relation of the intensity of cosmic r#s on "opposite
paths" to the intensity on "direct paths" in the same geographic points
gives a relative increase of intensity due to the difference in altitudes.
This dependence of cosmic ray intensity on altitu~es mint be caused,
in any case, by the following effects.
1. Increases of intensity due to decrease of the Eart# screening.
2. Increase of intensity due to decrease of the Earth magn tic field
that leads to decrease of a threshold energy of 9_~ticlee which are
able to penetrate through the Earth magnetic field~
The altitude dependence found can be explained bytakin into account
only these two effects.
The measurements of cosmic ray intensity during the sputnik flying on
many "direct paths" permit to plot the lines of equal "ensity of this
radiation /"isocogm "/.
Isocosms for three values of the counting rate, 18~ 27 and 36 particles
per sec were obtaind.
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intensity coincide with geographic parallels. In the equatoriallregion, Symposon/2/
discovered that the line of minimum intensity of cosmic rays ("cosmic
equator") does not coincide with the geomagnetic eq t . In this
connection, it is of a great interest to obtain he a
t M~r on distribution
of cosmic ray Spread of points relative to the approxpriate iso~osms 2-3 times
exceeds that to be expected basing on the statistical ~rrors only.
Apparently, this phenomenon is connected with variations of cosmic ray
intensity~ Analysis of 1 shows increases of cosmic ray intensity were observed.
Thus, on the 7th November, 1957, in the time inte~val from 4.36 a.m.
to 4.49 a.m,, Moscow timey in the latitudes above 580, increase of conic
radiation approximately by 50% was recorded. This in0ease was sixultansoualy
fixed by two instruments. The both instruments gave ic),entical dependence
on time.
The fact being of interest is that large fluctuat ons of intensity we
observable during the "burst".
This "burst" was not recorded at the sea level present it in
difficult to determinethe source of this increase oi 14tensity. It is not
excluded that this phenomena is caused by increase of cl~ensity of the electron
flux with a relatively small energy - of the order of hundreds of kev, which
can be recorded with a rather am-11 efficiency by Geigjr counter due to the
bramsstrahlung. (But not by increase of intensity of Possibility of such interpretation is. grounded on ~h. analysis of data
of the 3rd sputnik. A scintillation counter having a b~igh efficiency for
photon recording was -iounted on this sputnik. In this ~ase, a rather large
intensity of photons was observed. .in the An region
this burst was observed, intensity of photons increase4 and bad strong
fluctuations.
It is possible to
the origin I of these photons
ations of comic .
ray intensity observed on the 2nd sputnikk
at sea level and in the stratosphere (at the altitudes of 20-30 km).
pparently, two types of variations are available., A part of variations
is caused by cosmic rays, and therefore it must correffpOnd to change of
the number of primary cosmic rays. Another part of vartations does not
deal with cosmic rays. Apparently, a new radiation and!variation of the
intensity of charged particles and photons caused by
_fr=rta~ation were
recorded onihe sputniks with the help of apparatus ed for the study
of cosmic rays. These variations are caused by the r-4ationwhich can be
called as the "Farth radiation", i.e.the particles of 4gh energy originating
MEM
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possibility of storing a large numbr of secondary particles near the
Earth. These particles are able .move quasi-periodically from one
magnetic hemisphere to another. In the first approximation motion of the
particle in the field must take place in such a way that the
magnetic moment of the particle will be constant. Therefore, a charged
particle in "closed!' in the region of a relatively weQc magnetic field.
This particle is able to do a great number of oscillat~ions and their
intensity must be very large. One of the sources of particles is the decay
products of neutrons emitted by the Earth under the action of cosmic rays.
On the other hand, particles of corpuscular streams emitted by the Sun can
be such a source. i
This phenomenon of "halo" of substance and high e~aergy electrons
can exist around the other planets having magnetic field.
REFERENCES I
xauk, v.xiii, N1, 14g-162 (1957)-
2. Sympson and others. Phys. Rev. (1955), and the report at the
1Varanna conference.
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