Electrons of the Van Allen radiation

Calculations are presented for the flux of trapped electrons to be expected on the hypothesis that these electrons are β decay electrons from neutrons produced in the atmosphere by cosmic rays. It is shown that such electrons can form only a very small part of the observed electron component even in the inner zone. Furthermore, the observed energy spectrum is shown to be different from that expected from neutron β decay, and so other Sources of neutrons are not worth considering. It is concluded that the observed electrons are most probably accelerated in place by high-frequency electromagnetic fields.