Walter Alvarez

In 1938, Alvarez showed his first major discovery. It was the phenomenon of orbital electron capture . Before, in 1936 Hans Bethe had argued that an excited nucleus could decay by capturing one of its own orbiting electrons . It is a process that is known as K-Capture . Alvarez succeeded in detecting the process experimentally by identifying the characteristic X rays emitted during K capture , as a result of electrons moving from outer orbits into the vacant K orbit .

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What was Alvarez`s first major discovery? X-rays K-capture the phenomenon of orbital electron capture or the phenomenon of electrons?

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