Edward P. Ney
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Edward Purdy Ney was an American physicist who made major contributions to cosmic ray research, atmospheric physics, heliophysics, and infrared astronomy. He was a discoverer of cosmic ray heavy nuclei and of solar proton events. He pioneered the use of high-altitude balloons for scientific investigations and helped to develop procedures and equipment that underlie modern scientific ballooning. He was one of the first researchers to put experiments aboard spacecraft.
At center right, a primary cosmic ray heavy nucleus goes vertically through a cloud chamber, which was suspended under a balloon near the top of the atmosphere. At left, a Helium nucleus enters through the side of the chamber. Thin tracks are singly charged particles moving at nearly the speed of light. Note that this is a negative image, in which white droplets appear black, and that the horizontal bars are electrodes that do not introduce any material into the chamber.
Figure 1. From a patent: Tension Component Measuring Means US Patent and Trademark Office
Airglow and lightning over Australia; Photographed from Faith 7 by Gordon Cooper
Bruno Rossi
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Bruno Benedetto Rossi was an Italian experimental physicist. He made major contributions to particle physics and the study of cosmic rays. A 1927 graduate of the University of Bologna, he became interested in cosmic rays. To study them, he invented an improved electronic coincidence circuit, and travelled to Eritrea to conduct experiments that showed that cosmic ray intensity from the West was significantly larger than that from the East.
At the Rome conference on nuclear physics in 1931, Rossi met Robert Millikan and Arthur Compton.
Rossi's Cosmic ray telescope
Explorer 10 satellite. The white circular cap covers the opening of the MIT Faraday cup.