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The term "alpha particle" was coined by Ernest Rutherford in reporting his studies of the properties of uranium radiation. The radiation appeared to have two different characters, the first he called " α {\displaystyle \alpha } radiation" and the more penetrating one he called " β {\displaystyle \beta } radiation". After five years of additional experimental work, Rutherford and Hans Geiger determined that "the alpha particle, after it has lost its positive charge, is a Helium atom". Alpha radiation consists of particles equivalent to doubly-ionized helium nuclei (He) which can gain electrons from passing through matter. This mechanism is the origin of terrestrial helium gas.