Latitude and Altitude Effects on Cosmic Rays
Latitude Effect
Definition: Latitude effect may be defined as the effect that shows the intensity of the cosmic rays with the geometrical latitude. It shows that the intensity of the cosmic rays is maximum at the poles where geometrical latitude is and is minimum at the equator where the geometrical latitude is.
The Earth's magnetic field is the main reason for the decrease in cosmic ray intensity at the equator. In the poles, the charged particles are travelling parallel to the direction of the magnetic field. Thus, they can travel to Earth almost unhindered, so the intensity is always maximum at the poles. But when we consider the scenario of the equator, the charged particles have to travel in a perpendicular direction to the field and face the maximum hindrance. Only the particles having enough energy to cut through this barrier can reach the equator, thus we get minimum intensity at the equator.
Altitude Effect
Definition: It may be defined as the effect which shows the variation of the cosmic rays intensity with the altitude (height). The cosmic rays intensity increases with the increase of the altitude and is maximum when we reach an altitude of about 20 km. If we further increase the altitude then the intensity of the cosmic rays decreases. This effect is called the altitude effect.
The latitude effect is generally known as the change of the physical quantity with change in latitude whereas the altitude effect is the change of the physical quantity with respect to the change in the height.
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