Pierre Victor Auger

Pierre Victor Auger (May 14, 1899 – December 25, 1993) was a French physicist, born in Paris. He worked in the fields of atomic physics, nuclear physics and cosmic ray physics.

Related Topics:
May 14 - 1899 - December 25 - 1993 - Physicist - Paris - Atomic physics - Nuclear physics - Cosmic ray

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The Auger process where Auger electrons are emitted from atoms was named after him, despite the fact that Lise Meitner discovered the process a few years before in 1923.

Related Topics:
Auger electron - Atom - Lise Meitner - 1923

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In his work with cosmic rays, he found that the cosmic radiation events were coincident in time meaning that they were associated with a single event, an air shower. He estimated that the energy of the incoming particle that creates large air showers must be at least 10^{15}eV (electron-volts) = 10^{6} particles of 10^{8}eV (critical energy in air) and a factor of ten for energy loss from traversing the atmosphere (Auger et al., 1939).

Related Topics:
Air shower - Electron-volts

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The world's largest cosmic ray detector, the Pierre Auger Observatory, is named after him.

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