Nationalism and internationalism in science: the case of the discovery of cosmic rays

Abstract

The discovery of cosmic rays, a milestone in science, comprised scientists in Europe and the US and took place during a period characterised by nationalism and lack of communication. Many scientists that took part in this research a century ago were intrigued by the penetrating radiation and tried to understand the origin of it. Several important contributions to the discovery of the origin of cosmic rays have been forgotten and in particular that of Domenico Pacini, who in June 1911 demonstrated by studying the decrease of radioactivity with an electroscope immersed in water that cosmic rays could not come from the crust of the Earth. Several historical, political and personal facts might have contributed to the substantial disappearance of Pacini from the history of science.

To be published in European Physical Journal H - Version revised after interaction with the editor and the referees

References in corpus (3)

• Observation of an anomalous positron abundance in the cosmic radiation
• Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter
• Penetrating Radiation on the Sea

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Walther Bothe and Bruno Rossi: the birth and development of coincidence methods in cosmic-ray physics
• Diffuse Galactic Gamma Rays from Shock-Accelerated Cosmic Rays
• Atmospheric ionization and cosmic rays: studies and measurements before 1912
• On the Observations of the Penetrating Radiation during Seven Balloon Flights
• International scientific cooperation during the 1930s. Bruno Rossi and the development of the status of cosmic rays into a branch of physics
• Bruno Rossi and Cosmic Rays: From Earth laboratories to Physics in Space
• Pathways of History of Elementary Particle Physics
• The contribution by Domenico Pacini to the Cosmic Ray Physics