Ghost Particle: In Search of the Elusive and Mysterious Neutrino - Hardcover

Chodos, Alan; Riordon, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 026204787X ISBN 13: 9780262047876

Publisher: The MIT Press, 2023

Synopsis

The fascinating story of science in pursuit of the ghostly, ubiquitous subatomic particle—the neutrino.


Isaac Asimov is said to have observed of the neutrino: “The only reason scientists suggested its existence was their need to make calculations come out even. And yet the nothing-particle was not a nothing at all.” In fact, as one of the most enigmatic and most populous particles in the universe—about 100 trillion are flying through you every second—the neutrino may hold the clues to some of our deepest cosmic mysteries. In Ghost Particle, Alan Chodos and James Riordon recount the dramatic history of the neutrino—from the initial suggestion that the particle was merely a desperate solution to a puzzle that threatened to undermine the burgeoning field of particle physics to its modern role in illuminating the universe via neutrino telescopes.

Alan Chodos and James Riordon are deft and engaging guides as they conduct readers through the experiences of intrepid scientists and the challenges they faced, and continue to face, in their search for the ghostly neutrino. Along the way, the authors provide expert insight into the significance of neutrino research from the particle’s first, momentous discovery to recent, revolutionary advances in neutrino detection and astronomy. Chodos and Riordon describe how neutrinos may soon provide clues to some of the biggest questions we encounter today, including how to understand the dark matter that makes up most of the universe—and why anything exists in the universe at all.

About this title

About the Author

James Riordon is a science journalist who has written for Science News, Scientific American, New Scientist, Popular Science, Washington Post, Science, Ad Astra, Physics Today, and Analytical Chemistry. He is a past President of the DC Science Writers Association and Cofounder of the Southwest Science Writers Association.

Alan Chodos is a Research Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Arlington, a former Director of the Yale Center for Theoretical Physics, and the former Associate Executive Officer of the American Physical Society, where he is a Fellow.

From the Back Cover

"Dubbed 'ghost particles ' by Isaac Asimov and immortalized by John Updike, neutrinos keep surprising physicists. Let Alan Chodos and James Riordon be your expert guides through this fascinating tour of their history." - Jennifer Ouellette, author of Me, Myself and Why: Searching for the Science of Self

Edition details

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 026204787X
• ISBN 13: 9780262047876
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320