On the Production of Electron Pairs in the Field of an Electron

The ratio, R=σ-pairsσ-triplets=C(Z²)efZef for three gases, CH₄, air, and argon, has been studied and C found to be 3.63, 3.97, and 4.11, respectively. The average value of C from these data is 3.92±{}0.26. The gamma-rays from F¹⁹(p,α)γO¹⁶ were used in this experiment. The measured energies of the gamma-rays as deduced from pairs formed in CH₄ are 6.13±{}0.06 and 7.12±{}0.07 Mev. Data on the energy distribution of the low energy negative electron of the triplet are included.