Could Cosmic Rays be used to generate energy?

Its true that a lot of cosmic rays are blocked by the Van-Allen radiation belt and the Earth's atmosphere - but we are still hit with at least SOME cosmic rays.

I am unaware of any way of harnessing the energy behind cosmic rays ... it would be somewhat like harnessing the power of atomic pile without using the heat. We spend so much time trying to shield ourselves from their effects, its not clear if collecting them may be worth it.

It would be FAR easier to collect light - from the Sun - and certainly the technology for converting light into electricity is well known.

We are fortunately protected from the harmful effects of cosmic rays by the earth's magnetic field.

But in outer space they are abundant . The main disadvantage in generating energy from them is they are widely scattered . We have no technology to collect them. Moreover the particle energy varies widely . No particular method helps in collecting all the particles.

So energy generation from cosmic rays is not a viable proposal.

Harnessing solar energy is far the more simpler.

Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space, that impinge on Earth's atmosphere. They may produce secondary particles that may penetrate to the Earth's surface, and deeper. Cosmic rays are the same particles that are stable (nonradioactive) components of the types of atoms that normally occur on Earth, i.e. protons, atomic nuclei, or electrons. Cosmic rays thus resemble the particles that circulate inside particle accelerators, although cosmic ray energies may be far higher (see below). The term ray comes from the early days of radiation research, when a directed stream of any ionizing radiation was termed a "ray" (example, alpha rays). At the time they were named, the precise nature of cosmic rays was not understood, and it was thought they might be electromagnetic radiation, like gamma rays. Cosmic ray particles are now known to arrive individually, not in the form of a beam — although a single particle can produce a directed "shower" of many secondary particles. Today, when the particle nature of cosmic rays must be emphasized, the term "cosmic ray particle" is often used. About 89% of incoming cosmic ray nuclei are simple protons (hydrogen nuclei), 10% are helium nuclei (alpha particles), and 1% of cosmic ray nuclei are those of the heavier elements. These nuclei together make up 99% of cosmic rays, and solitary electrons (much like beta particles, although their ultimate source is unknown) constitute the remaining 1% of the particles that make up galactic cosmic rays. It is unknown why electrons are accelerated less efficiently than atomic nuclei, during galactic cosmic ray production.