cosmic ray
cosmic ray — noun
1. a particle, mostly an atomic nucleus, that travels through space at nearly the s
a particle, mostly an atomic nucleus, that travels through space at nearly the speed of light and constantly reaches the Earth from every direction, carrying extremely high energy.
Greta studies how cosmic rays affect the electronic parts on satellites in orbit.
collocation: cosmic ray + affect + satellite electronics
A physics team built a detector on a mountain to catch cosmic rays from space.
Astronauts receive a stronger dose of cosmic rays than people living on the ground do.
When a fast cosmic ray hits the upper atmosphere, it breaks into many smaller particles.
The new telescope can tell the difference between cosmic rays and ordinary starlight.
- primary cosmic ray
specifically a particle arriving from outside the solar system, before it hits the atmosphere
- high-energy particle
broader term that includes particles produced by accelerators on Earth, not just space-born radiation
文法句型
cosmic ray / cosmic rays
用法筆記
This term belongs to the vocabulary of astronomy and particle physics. In everyday language, it appears almost exclusively in popular science writing and news reports about space exploration. The plural form 'cosmic rays' is very common when referring to the phenomenon as a whole.