cosmic ray
nounDefinition of cosmic ray
: a stream of atomic nuclei of extremely penetrating character that enter the earth's atmosphere from outer space at speeds approaching that of light
Examples of cosmic ray in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For now, the researchers are turning to sunspots and cosmic rays for an explanation. — Alex Fox, Science | AAAS, "The world’s strongest lightning hits—not in summer—but from November to February," 9 Sep. 2019 Before, astronomy had been based solely on studies of electromagnetic radiation and exotic particles like neutrinos and cosmic rays. — Steve Nadis, Discover Magazine, "We've Found Gravitational Waves. What Will We Learn From Them?," 24 May 2019 Most neutrino experiments need very large detectors that need to be underground, almost always under mountains, to be protected from cosmic rays that themselves produce neutrinos. — Quanta Magazine, "On a Hunt for a Ghost of a Particle," 8 Dec. 2016 Below, a colorless ammonium hydrosulfide layer could be reacting with cosmic rays or solar UV radiation. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Hey, What's Up With Jupiter's Great Red Spot?," 12 Aug. 2019 This process relies on measuring the presence of carbon-14 (14C), a mildly radioactive isotope created naturally in the atmosphere by cosmic rays. — The Economist, "Researchers find a way to use minute samples to detect forged paintings," 8 June 2019 During an excursion or a reversal, the magnetic field is considerably weakened and allows many more cosmic rays to reach the surface of the planet. — Jonathan O'callaghan, Scientific American, "Earth’s Magnetic Field Reversal Took Three Times Longer Than Thought," 7 Aug. 2019 The muons can be detected in underground water chambers and used to distinguish between gamma ray and cosmic ray events. — Dennis Normile, Science | AAAS, "Highest energy light ever seen traced to Crab Nebula," 8 July 2019 Among those particles are the mysterious cosmic rays. — Mark Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "UW-Madison scientists expand effort to solve mysteries of universe inside South Pole ice," 16 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cosmic ray.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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