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2.2.Cosmic Ray Abundancies
It is interesting to compare the mass distribution of the particles arriving at the top of the atmosphere with cosmic abundancies:—
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| Z | Element | Cosmic Abundance Relative to 10,000 atoms of H. | Primary Cosmic Ray Abundance Relative to 10,000 protons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | H | 10,000 | 10,000 | |
| 2 | He | 1,000 | 1,000 | |
| 3 | Li | — | 160 | |
| 4 | Be | — | ||
| 5 | B | — | 33 | |
| 6 | C | 4.6 | ||
| 7 | N | 2.3 | 13 | |
| 8 | O | 6.3 | 39 | |
| 9 | F | 0.003 | ||
| ≥10 | 2.6 | 14 |
The cosmic abundance figures in the universe were obtained from Brown (1949)—the result of studies of spectra of stars and planetary nebulae, the absorption of light in interstellar space and on the chemical analysis of meteorites. The cosmic ray figures are a composite group from recent papers—viz, Kaplon, Peters et al (1952), Dainton et al (1952), Bradt and Peters (1950), Yagoda (1952), Hoang (1950), Freier et al., (1951) Biermann (1953). There is some disagreement over the important figures of cosmic ray abundances for elements 3, 4 and 5 and more information at an altitude free from suspicion of production as secondaries of heavier particles is required.
The general similarity of cosmic and cosmic ray relative abundances suggests that the problem of cosmic ray origin may be connected with more general cosmological problems, including the formation of the chemical elements in an element factory that was booming some 3–5 billion years ago.