English

Noun

cosmic ray ‎(plural cosmic rays)

1. (astronomy) An energetic particle originating outside our solar system.
2. (astronomy) Cosmic radiation: a stream of cosmic rays.

Usage notes

The use of the words "ray" and "radiation" implies incorrectly that cosmic rays are electromagnetic waves, similar to light rays and X-rays; cosmic rays were so named before their nature was known.

Hypernyms

• ray

Hyponyms

• anomalous cosmic ray

Translations

References

• cosmic ray on Wikipedia.Wikipedia