The theory of the hydrodynamic origin of cosmic rays proposed by Johnson and the author (Colgate) has developed to the point where the final evolution of a star to the supernova instability and subsequent explosion can be described with sufficient detail such that cosmic rays with appropriate intensity, composition, and spectrum to account for observations are a logical and necessary result. In the first publication it was pointed out that nuclei in the surface of the star may acquire many orders or magnitude more than the average energy per particle released in the explosion because of the large ratio of matter density between the core and the outer mantle. A shock from a sudden pressure increase in the core intensifies as it advances into lower-density material, thereby imparting extreme relativistic energies to the outermost layers. The shock wave was assumed on the basis that the observed explosion occurred in a time short compared to the traversal time of sound across the dimensions of the star. It was argued without proof that an adiabatic process would be inconsistent with the accepted gravitational instability as the trigger mechanism. In an attempt to confirm this supposition we extend the hydrodynamic calculations to describe …

The calibration of mercury vapor detectors has always posed a problem because of the difficulty of generating known concentrations of mercury vapor in air. The purpose of this study was to design an apparatus that would generate and chemically measure known concentrations of mercury vapor in air for calibration work.

A system for measuring depths of cryogenic liquids is described. The indicating device is a modified differential pressure gage. The level sensing probes are of various types, either permanent or removable. The heat leak to cryogenic liquids may be made negligibly small.