Chapter 36, Problem 43A

Residents of northern Canada are bombarded by more intense cosmic radiation than are residents of Mexico. Why is this so?

To determine

To explain: people of northern Canada are stricken by more intense cosmic radiation than that of Mexico

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

• Canada is very nearest to the earth’s northern polar region and the magnetic field lines of the earth are perpendicular to that surface which is nearest to Canada but near Mexico, they are approximately parallel to the earth’s surface.
• Cosmic rays are high energy particles that travel through space with that speed which is almost equal to the speed of the light.

In the case of Mexico, cosmic rays are bent away from the Earth because the field’s lines are moving in a parallel direction with the surface. But in the case of Canada, the earth’s magnetic field is moving in the perpendicular direction to the surface and the cosmic rays move toward the ground by following the magnetic field’s lines.

Conclusion:

In Mexico, the field’s lines are moving in a parallel direction to the earth’s surface while in Canada, the field lines are moving in a normal direction to the earth’s surface.