The Shot Effect for Showers

A well-known theorem on probability may be stated as follows. Let λdt be the chance that a certain event will happen in time dt, so that λT is the average number of occurrences of the event in an interval T. If we take a large number of repetitions of the interval T the actual numbers of occurrences will fluctuate about the mean λT, being say λT + x′, λT + x″,…. Then the theorem states that The ejection of an α-particle by a radioactive substance is an event of the type contemplated and the theorem was applied to this physical problem by von Schweidler in 1905. Much similar work, both theoretical and experimental, has been done at intervals since then*.