Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Pair production
Pair production is a nuclear physics process which occurs where a high-energy photon, generally interacting with an atomic nucleus, produces a particle and an antiparticle. It is the chief method by which energy from gamma rays is observed in condensed matter.
Electrons and positrons are frequently produced by this process because the light weight of the electron/positron (0.51MeV) allows relatively low-energy gamma rays (>1.02MeV) to create particle pairs.
These interactions were first observed in Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett's counter-controlled bubble chamber, leading to the 1948 nobel prize for physics.
10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details