Van Allen radiation belt: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:54, 18 November 2002

Revision as of 08:02, 18 November 2002

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Saturn seems to have an "inner belt" similar to the Earth's, observed by [[Pioneer 11]] during its 1979 fly-by and probably produced by cosmic rays which eject neutrons from Saturn's [[planetary ring]]s.

==The Van Allen BeltBelts and Why ItThey Exists==

The [[USSR|Soviet]]s once accused the [[United States of America|US]] of creating the inner belt as a result of nuclear testing in [[Nevada]]. The US has, likewise, accused the USSR of creating the outer belt through nuclear testing. It is uncertain how particles from such testing could escape the atmosphere and reach the altitides of the radiation belts.

[[Tom Gold]] has argued that the outer belt is left over from the [[aurora]] while [[Alex Dessler]] has argued that the belt is a result of [[volcano|volcanic activity]]

It is generally understood that the Van Allen belts are a result of the collision of [[Earth's magnetic field]] with the [[solar wind]]. Radiation from the solar wind then becomes trapped within the [[magnetosphere]].

See also: [[Sherwood machine]]