Atmospheric Signals Caused by Cosmic-Ray Showers

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Abstract
It is suggested that large cosmic-ray showers can be detected by the electrical signal produced when the ionization of the shower nullifies the electric field of the earth. The signal should have two components, a very short but small signal due to the motion of free electrons, and a slow but possibly large component due to the motion of the ions. The energy of the signal is stored in the earth's electrical field until it is released by the ionization. An estimate is made of the size and duration of the signals which indicates that they may be detectable, especially in the case of the slow signal which may have a time of rise of the order of a fraction of a second.

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