Today we are having a look at the discovery of the muon in 1937. Physicists discovered the muon by examining cosmic radiation. Cosmic radiation consists of high-energetic particles with an origin outside of our solar system that continuously hit the earth's atmosphere. When the cosmic rays, mainly consisting of atomic nuclei, hits the earth atmosphere the nuclei react with the particles in the atmosphere, so that cascades of new particles are created. These new particles are mainly unstable, meaning that they only live for a short period, before they decay. These decay products can be observed on the earth's surface.
To detect these decay particles physicists used a cloud chamber. In this device, the tracks of charged particles moving through a liquid can be made visible. By adding a magnetic field to the setup it is also possible to determine whether a particle is electrically negatively or positively charged as well as other properties like particle momentum and particle mass.
This experimental setup was used by Anderson in 1934, who observed a number of particles that were heavier than an electron but lighter than a proton and negatively charged. A few years later, as well as a few particle discoveries later this particle was identified as the muon we know today.
s6nadavi
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3 years ago 
"Who ordered that!" (I. I. Rabi)
Today we are having a look at the discovery of the muon in 1937. Physicists discovered the muon by examining cosmic radiation. Cosmic radiation consists of high-energetic particles with an origin outside of our solar system that continuously hit the earth's atmosphere. When the cosmic rays, mainly consisting of atomic nuclei, hits the earth atmosphere the nuclei react with the particles in the atmosphere, so that cascades of new particles are created. These new particles are mainly unstable, meaning that they only live for a short period, before they decay. These decay products can be observed on the earth's surface.
To detect these decay particles physicists used a cloud chamber. In this device, the tracks of charged particles moving through a liquid can be made visible. By adding a magnetic field to the setup it is also possible to determine whether a particle is electrically negatively or positively charged as well as other properties like particle momentum and particle mass.
This experimental setup was used by Anderson in 1934, who observed a number of particles that were heavier than an electron but lighter than a proton and negatively charged. A few years later, as well as a few particle discoveries later this particle was identified as the muon we know today.