The contribution by Domenico Pacini to the Cosmic Ray Physics

TL;DR

This paper highlights Domenico Pacini's crucial role in early cosmic ray research, emphasizing his pioneering underground measurements and contributions alongside Hess's space-based studies, shaping foundational experimental approaches.

Contribution

It reveals Pacini's pioneering efforts in underground cosmic ray measurements, a key aspect often overshadowed by Hess's space-based experiments.

Findings

Pacini's underground measurements provided early evidence of cosmic rays' terrestrial origin.

Hess's balloon experiments confirmed the extraterrestrial origin of cosmic rays.

The paper clarifies the historical sequence and significance of early cosmic ray experiments.

Abstract

Between 1900 and 1913 several people were investigating about the unknown radiation, later identified as Cosmic Rays. Several experimentalist tried to identify the origin of this radiation and in particular Victor Franz Hess, Theodor Wulf and Domenico Pacini. Among them Domenico Pacini had a crucial role to address the answer to the origin of this radiation in the right way, and V.F.~Hess performed the complete set of measurements that definitively excluded an origin connected to the soil radioactive elements. However the most interesting and may be surprising point it that these pioneers defined 1 century ago the three experimental lines to study the Cosmic Rays: from space, on ground and underground and using only electroscopes. Domenico Pacini in particular may be considered the pioneer of the underground measurements on Cosmic Rays and Hess with his set of systematic measurements with balloon flights, originated the air-space studies on Cosmic Rays.