Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

From Waves to Particle Tracks and Quantum Probabilities

  • Chapter
From Ultra Rays to Astroparticles

Abstract

Here, the measurement methods for identifying massive charged particles are investigated. They have been used from early cosmic ray studies up to the present day. Laws such as the classical Lorentz force and Einstein’s relativistic kinematics were established before the rise of quantum mechanics. Later, it became crucial to measure the energy loss of charged particles in matter. In 1930, Bethe developed a semi-classical model based on the quantum mechanics of scattering. In the early 1930s, he and others calculated the passage of charged particles through matter including pair creation and bremsstrahlung. Due to missing trust in quantum electrodynamics, however, only semi-empirical methods were employed in order to estimate the mass and charge from the features of particle tracks. In 1932, Anderson inserted a lead plate into the cloud chamber in order to determine the flight direction and charge of the ‘positive electron’. In the 1940s, nuclear emulsions helped to resolve puzzles about particle identification and quantum electrodynamics. Later, the measurement theory was extended in a cumulative process by adding conservation laws for dynamic properties, probabilistic quantum formulas for resonances, scattering cross sections, etc. The measurement method was taken over from cosmic ray studies to the era of particle accelerators, and finally taken back from there to astroparticle physics. The measurement methods remained the same, but in the transition from particle to astroparticle physics the focus of interest shifted. Indeed, the experimental methods of both fields explore the grounds of ‘new physics’ in complementary ways.

Later I was asked to sit and count the tic-tac of the cosmic rays and only then did I accept for the first time the existence of cosmic rays. Until then I had been convinced that they were an invention of Bruno and other scientists

Nora Lombroso (Rossi, 1990, 167)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson, C.D.: The apparent existence of easily deflectible positives. Science 7, 238 (1932)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C.D.: The positive electron. Phys. Rev. 43, 491–494 (1933)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C.D., Anderson, H.L.: Unraveling the particle content of cosmic rays. In: Brown, L.M., Hoddeson, L. (eds.) The Birth of Particle Physics, pp. 131–154. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bethe, H.: Zur Theorie des Durchgangs schneller Korpuskularstrahlen durch Materie. Ann. Phys. 5, 325–400 (1930)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Bethe, H.: Bremsformel für Elektronen relativistischer Geschwindigkeit. Z. Phys. 76, 293–299 (1932)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Bethe, H., Heitler, W.: On the stopping of fast particles and on the creation of positive electrons. Proc. R. Soc. A 146, 83–112 (1934)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Blackett, P.M.S., Occhialini, G.: Some photographs of the tracks of penetrating radiation. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. A 139, 699–726 (1933)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Blackmore, J.T.: Ernst Mach; His Work, Life, and Influence. University of California Press, Berkeley (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Blau, M., Wambacher, H.: Disintegration processes by cosmic rays with the simultaneous emission of several heavy particles. Nature 140, 585 (1937)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Bloch, F.: Bremsvermögen von Atomen mit mehreren Elektronen. Z. Phys. 81, 363–376 (1933)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Bohr, N.: On the theory of the decrease of velocity of moving electrified particles on passing through matter. Philos. Mag. 25, 10–31 (1913). Repr. in: Bohr Collected Works (BCW), vol. 2, pp. 18–39. North-Holland (Elsevier), Amsterdam

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Bohr, N.: On the decrease of velocity of swiftly moving electrified particles on passing through matter. Philos. Mag., 30, 581–612 (1915). Repr. in: BCW, vol. 8, pp. 127–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bohr, N.: Über die Serienspektren der Elemente. Z. Phys. 2, 423–469 (1920). Engl. transl. in: Bohr (1922)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Bohr, N.: The Theory of Spectra and Atomic Constitution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1922)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohr, N.: Como Lecture (1927). Modified version: The quantum postulate and the recent development of atomic theory. Nature 121, 580–590 (1927). Repr. in: Wheeler and Zurek, 1983, 87–126. Both versions in: BCW, vol. 6, pp. 109–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohr, N.: Discussion with Einstein on epistemological problems of atomic physics. In: Schilpp, P.A. (ed.) Albert Einstein: Philosopher–Scientist. Library of Living Philosophers, pp. 115–150. Evanston, Illinois (1949). Repr. in: Wheeler and Zurek, 1983, pp. 9–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohr, N., Kramers, H.A., Slater, J.C.: The quantum theory of radiation. Philos. Mag. 47, 785–802 (1924). Repr. in: van der Waerden, B.L. (ed.): Sources of Quantum Mechanics, pp. 159–176. Dover, New York (1967)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Born, M.: Zur Quantenmechanik der Stoßvorgänge. Z. Phys. 37, 863–867 (1926a). Engl. transl. in: Wheeler and Zurek (1983), 52–55

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Born, M.: Quantenmechanik der Stoßvorgänge. Z. Phys. 38, 803–827 (1926b)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Bothe, W., Geiger, H.: Über das Wesen des Comptoneffekts. Z. Phys. 32, 639–663 (1925)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Bothe, W., Kolhörster, W.: Das Wesen der Höhenstrahlung. Z. Phys. 56, 751–777 (1929)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Breit, G., Wigner, E.: Capture of slow neutrons. Phys. Rev. 49, 519–531 (1936)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Cartwright, N.: How the Laws of Physics Lie. Clarendon Press, Oxford (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassidy, D.: Cosmic ray showers, high energy physics, and quantum field theories: programmatic interactions in the thirties. Hist. Stud. Phys. Sci. 12, 1–39 (1981)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Compton, A.H.: A quantum theory of the scattering of X-rays by light elements. Phys. Rev. 21, 483–502 (1923)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Daston, L. (ed.): Biographies of Scientific Objects. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (2000)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Daston, L., Galison, P.: Objectivity. MIT Press, Cambridge (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  • de Broglie, L.: Ondes et quanta. Comptes Rendus 177, 507–510 (1923)

    Google Scholar 

  • Debye, P.J.W.: Zerstreuung von Röntgenstrahlen und Quantentheorie. Phys. Z. 24, 161–166 (1923). Engl. transl. in: The Collected Papers of P.J.W. Debye, pp. 80–88. Interscience, New York (1954)

    Google Scholar 

  • Einstein, A.: Über einen die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichts betreffenden heuristischen Gesichtspunkt. Ann. Phys. 17, 132–148 (1905)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Einstein, A.: Zur Quantentheorie der Strahlung. Phys. Z. 18, pp. 121–128 (1917)

    Google Scholar 

  • Einstein, A., Podolsky, B., Rosen, N.: Quantum mechanical description of reality be considered complete? Phys. Rev. 47, 777–780 (1935)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Falkenburg, B.: Particle Metaphysics. A Critical Account of Subatomic Reality. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  • Falkenburg, B.: Pragmatic unification, observation and realism in astroparticle physics. J. Gen. Philos. Sci. (Z. Allg. Wiss.theor.) (2012, to appear)

    Google Scholar 

  • Falkenburg, B., Rhode, W.: Astroteilchenphysik: Die Brücke zwischen Mikro- und Makrokosmos. In: Falkenburg, B. (ed.) Natur – Technik – Kultur, pp. 57–90. Mentis, Paderborn (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  • Franklin, A.: The Neglect of Experiment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1986)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin, A.: Experiment, Right or Wrong. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1990)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin, A.: Are There Really Neutrinos? An Evidential History. Perseus Books, Cambridge (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  • Galison, P.: How Experiments End. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  • Galison, P.: Marietta Blau: between nazis and nuclei. Phys. Today 50, 42 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geiger, H., Marsden, E.: Die Zerstreuungsgesetze der α-Strahlen bei großem Ablenkungswinkel. Philos. Mag. 25, 604–623 (1913)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenstein, G., Zajonc, A.G.: The Quantum Challenge. Modern Research on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Jones & Bartlett, Boston (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, L.: Marietta Blau (1894–1970). In: Grinstein, L.S., Rafailovich, M.H. (eds.) Women in Chemistry and Physics. A Biobibliographic Sourcebook, p. 58. Greenwood Press, London (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  • Heisenberg, W.: Physikalische Prinzipien der Quantentheorie. Hirzel, Leipzig (1930). Repr. in: Bibliographisches Institut, Manheim (1958). Engl. transl. by C. Eckart and F.C. Hoyt: Physical Principles of Quantum Theory. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Heisenberg, W.: Über den Bau der Atomkerne. Z. Phys. 77, 1–11 (1932)

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Heitler, W., Sauter, F.: Stopping of fast particles with emission of radiation and the birth of positive electrons. Nature 132, 892 (1933)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, Th.S.: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1962). 2nd edn. (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lattes, C.M.G.: My work in meson physics with nuclear emulsions. In: Brown, L.M., Hoddeson, L. (eds.) The Birth of Particle Physics, pp. 307–310 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorentz, H.A.: Versuch einer Theorie der electrischen und optischen Erscheinungen in bewegten Körpern, Sect. 12. Brill, Leiden (1895). Repr. in: Collected Papers, vol. 5. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff (1936)

    Google Scholar 

  • Millikan, R.A.: The isolation of an ion, a precision measurement of its charge, and the correction of Stokes’s law. Phys. Rev. 32, 349–397 (1911)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Millikan, R.A.: The Electron. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1917)

    Google Scholar 

  • Møller, Ch.: Über den Stoß zweier Teilchen unter Berücksichtigung der Retardation der Kräfte. Z. Phys. 70, 786–795 (1931)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Mott, N.F.: The wave mechanics of α-rays. Proc. R. Soc. A 126, 79–84 (1929). Repr. in: Wheeler and Zurek (1983), 129–134

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Müller, A.: Complementarity in the neutral kaon system. Philos. Nat. 30, 247–253 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nye, M.: Molecular Reality: A Perspective on the Scientific Work of Jean Perrin. MacDonald, London (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Noether, E.: Invariante Variationsprobleme. Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Gött., Math.-Phys. Kl., 235–257 (1918)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pais, A.: Inward Bound. Clarendon Press, Oxford (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrin, J.: Ann. Chim. Phys. 18, 1–14 (1909) Engl. transl. by F. Soddy: Brownian Motion and Molecular Reality. Dover Phoenix Editions, Book on Demand, (1909)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Pickering, A.: Constructing Quarks. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, C.F., Fowler, P.H., Perkins, D.H.: The Study of Elementary Particles by the Photographic Method. An Account of the Principal Techniques and Discoveries. Illustrated by an Atlas of Photomicrographs. Pergamon Press, London (1959)

    Google Scholar 

  • Riordan, M.: The Hunting of the Quark. Simon & Schuster, New York (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, B.: High-Energy Particles. Prentice-Hall, New York (1952)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, B.: The decay of “Mesotrons” (1939–1943). Experimental particle physics in the age of innocence. In: Brown, L.M., Hoddeson, L. (eds.) The Birth of Particle Physics, pp. 183–205 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, B.: Moments in the Life of a Scientist. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutherford, E., Chadwick, J., Ellis, C.D.: Radiations from Radioactive Substances. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1930). Repr.: (1951)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Schrödinger, E.: Über den Comptoneffekt. Ann. Phys. 82, 257–264 (1927)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Schweber, S.S.: QED and the Men Who Made It. Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1994)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, P.: Parts. A Study in Ontology. Clarendon Press, Oxford (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  • Skobeltzyn, D.V.: The early stage of cosmic particle research. In: Sekido, Y., Elliot, H. (eds.) Early History of Cosmic Ray Studies – Personal Reminiscences with Old Photographs, pp. 47–51. Reidel, Dordrecht (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  • Strohmaier, B., Rosner, R. (eds.): Marietta Blau. Stars of Disintegration. Biography of a Pioneer of Particle Physics. Ariadne, Riverside (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, J.J.: Cathode rays. Philos. Mag. 44, 293–316 (1897)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, J.J.: On the masses of the ions in gases at low pressures. Philos. Mag. 48, 547–567 (1899)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend, J.S.: On electricity in gases and the formation of clouds in charged gases. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 9, 244–258 (1897)

    Google Scholar 

  • Trigg, G.L.: Crucial Experiments in Modern Physics. Crane Russah & Co, New York (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • von Neumann, J.: Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik. Springer, Berlin (1932). Engl. transl. by R. Beyer: Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1955)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Yukawa, H.: On the interaction of elementary particles. Proc. Phys.-Math. Soc. Jpn. 17, 48–57 (1935)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheaton, B.R.: The Tiger and the Shark. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1983)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, J.A., Zurek, W.H. (eds.): Quantum Theory and Measurement. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigner, E.P.: On unitary representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group. Ann. Math. 40, 149–204 (1939)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fakultät 14, Institut für Philosophie und Politikwissenschaft, Technische Universität Dortmund, 44221, Dortmund, Germany

    Brigitte Falkenburg

Authors
  1. Brigitte Falkenburg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brigitte Falkenburg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Philosophy and Political Science, Faculty 14, TU University Dortmund, Emil-Figge-Str. 50, Dortmund, 44227, Germany

    Brigitte Falkenburg

  2. Technische Universitaet Dortmund, Otto-Hahn-Str. 4, Dortmund, 44227, Germany

    Wolfgang Rhode

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Falkenburg, B. (2012). From Waves to Particle Tracks and Quantum Probabilities. In: Falkenburg, B., Rhode, W. (eds) From Ultra Rays to Astroparticles. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5422-5_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation