the.com/cosmic ray
A proton from a dead star, older than Earth, hits your DNA right now.
means A high-energy particle — mostly protons and atomic nuclei — that comes from outer space and slams into Earth's atmosphere at nearly the speed of light.
from Coined in the 1920s by physicist Robert Millikan, who studied the ionizing radiation raining down from above and assumed it was a form of electromagnetic radiation like gamma rays — hence 'ray,' a naming choice that stuck even after it became clear most cosmic rays are actually charged particles, not rays at all. 'Cosmic' simply borrows from the Greek kosmos, meaning the ordered universe — fitting, since these particles arrive from exploded stars, distant galaxies, and sources still not fully pinned down.
- actual origin
- supernova shockwaves, not outer space itself
- not rays
- mostly protons and atomic nuclei, misnamed in 1925
- flips bits
- occasionally crashes computers and consoles mid-game
- speed
- some hit near light speed, energy of a thrown baseball