Power Law Spectra in the Nature: Analogies with the Cosmic Ray Spectrum

Abstract

Examples of the power law spectra observations in the Nature are given. It is shown that the observed meteoroid mass spectrum is very similar to the observed cosmic ray energy spectrum. It is concluded that the "knees" observed in both spectra have a similar origin: the Earth's atmosphere. Both spectra are studied by indirect methods through secondary components and specific behavior of these components in the atmosphere could produce the "knee" even in a case when primary spectrum follows a pure power law.