Editing Cosmic ray (section)

==Energy==
Cosmic rays attract great interest practically, due to the damage they inflict on microelectronics and life outside the protection of an atmosphere and magnetic field, and scientifically, because the energies of the most energetic [[ultra-high-energy cosmic ray]]s have been observed to approach {{nowrap|3 × {{10^|20}} eV&thinsp;}}<ref>{{cite news |author=Nerlich, Steve |date=12 June 2011 |title=Astronomy without a telescope – 'Oh-my-God' particles |website=Universe Today |url=http://www.universetoday.com/86490/astronomy-without-a-telescope-oh-my-god-particles/ |access-date=17 February 2013}}</ref> (This is slightly greater than 10&nbsp;million times the design energy of particles accelerated by the [[Large Hadron Collider]], {{convert|7|TeV|eV|abbr=~|lk=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=LHC: The guide |series=FAQ: Facts and figures |year=2021 |page=3 |publisher=[[European Organization for Nuclear Research]] (CERN) |department=[[Large Hadron Collider]] |url=https://home.web.cern.ch/resources/brochure/knowledge-sharing/lhc-facts-and-figures |access-date=9 October 2022}}</ref>) One can show that such enormous energies might be achieved by means of the [[centrifugal mechanism of acceleration]] in [[active galactic nuclei]]. At {{convert|50|J|GeV|abbr=~|lk=on}},<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Gaensler, Brian |date=November 2011 |title=Extreme speed |magazine=COSMOS |issue=41 |page= |url=http://ska.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/5162/extreme-speed |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130407234845/http://ska.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/5162/extreme-speed |archive-date=7 April 2013}}</ref> the highest-energy ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (such as the [[Oh-My-God particle|OMG particle]] recorded in 1991) have energies comparable to the kinetic energy of a {{convert|90|kph|mph|adj=on|abbr=~|lk=on}} baseball. As a result of these discoveries, there has been interest in investigating cosmic rays of even greater energies.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Anchordoqui, L. |author2=Paul, T. |author3=Reucroft, S. |author4=Swain, J. |year=2003 |title=Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays: The state of the art before the Auger Observatory |journal=[[International Journal of Modern Physics A]] |volume=18 |issue=13 |pages=2229–2366 |doi=10.1142/S0217751X03013879 |arxiv=hep-ph/0206072 |bibcode=2003IJMPA..18.2229A |s2cid=119407673}}</ref> Most cosmic rays, however, do not have such extreme energies; the energy distribution of cosmic rays peaks at {{convert|300|MeV|J|abbr=~|lk=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |editor=Nave, Carl R. |title=Cosmic rays |website=HyperPhysics |publisher=[[Georgia State University]] |department=Physics and Astronomy Department |url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/astro/cosmic.html |access-date=17 February 2013}}</ref>