Hess, Victor Franz
The Austrian Victor Franz Hess (1883 - 1964), son to a forester, was an experimental physicist.
He greatly increased the precision of the available electroscopes. He then personally took the equipment with him in a balloon and systematically measured the radiation at altitudes of up to 5.3 kilometers. He conclude that radiation was penetrating the atmosphere from outer space.
The discovery was confirmed by Robert Andrews Millikan, who gave the radiation the name cosmic rays.
See also
Last modified:10 January 2026 2.23 p.m.