Synopses & Reviews
Spaceship Neutrino charts the history of the neutrino, from its beginnings in the 1930s, when it was postulated as a way of explaining an otherwise intractable problem in physics, to its crucial role in modern theories of the Universe. Christine Sutton is well known for her popular science writing. In this book she describes how the detection and measurement of neutrino properties have tested technology to its limits, requiring huge detectors, often located deep in mines, under mountains or even under the sea. As part of the story she explains without the use of mathematics how our understanding of the structure of matter and the forces that hold it together have come from work with neutrinos, and how these insignificant particles hold the key to our understanding of the beginning and the end of the Universe.
Review
"... a pleasure to read, with many excellent illustrations including fine photographs of our heroes, on and off duty, and of their laboratories and equipment." John Edgington, Times Higher Education Supplement"So rarely does a book appear that is both technically competent and broadly enjoyable. Let neither the professional be put off by the jejune title nor the amateur shrink from the book's comprehensive nature. Spaceship Neutrino has something for all." Adam Burrows, Sky &Telescope"This well-illustrated, detailed...account is suitable for undergraduates and the general public." David Haase, American Scientist"Sutton's remarkable book, written without using mathematics and technical jargon, relates the history of the neutrino from the first suggestion of its existence by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930. Enthusiastically recommended." R.L. Stearns, Choice"...a brief, richly illustrated, informed and up to date overview of the entire physics of neutrinos. Her style is easy, the language lively and familiar....Beginners and physics-wise readers can profit alike....her timely choice of topic in all its breadth is hard to match." Scientific American"...an unconventional approach to modern astrophysics for the general reader...tells [the story of neutrinos] comprehe nsively and comprehensibly." Griffith Observer"...Christine Sutton, a physicist at the University of Oxfo rd and a skilled science expositor, tells the story of those bizarre specks of matter with vigor and authority..." The Sciences
Synopsis
Try to imagine a spaceship that could pass right through the Earth without even noticing it was there. And one that could cross the vastness of space at the speed of light, and then penetrate into the very heart of subatomic matter to seek out its fundamental structure. Imagine, then, a particle that is almost nothing that can tell you almost everything about the structure of matter and the evolution of the Universe. Impossible? In fact, all of these descriptions can be applied to the neutrino, a subatomic particle that is so elusive it is almost undetectable. Spaceship Neutrino charts the history of the neutrino from its beginnings in the 1930s to its crucial role in modern theories of the Universe. Christine Sutton is well known for her popular science writing. In this book she describes how the detection and measurement of neutrino properties have tested technology to its limits, requiring huge detectors, often located deep in mines, under mountains or even under the sea.
Synopsis
The history of the neutrino, a subatomic particle so elusive that it's almost undetectable, is charted--from its beginnings in the 1930s to its current crucial role in modern theories of the Universe--for all levels of interest in modern physics.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 232-239) and index.
Table of Contents
Foreword; Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. The neutrino hypothesis; 3. What is a neutrino?; 4. How many neutrinos?; 5. Nuclear spaceships; 6. Solar spaceships; 7. Cosmic spaceships; 8. Moonbase neutrino; Further reading.