The Neutrino - An Elusive Beast
An infinite number of neutrinos shoot across the earth's surface every second, radiated by distant stars, and yet it has taken up until the mid 20th century for anyone to realize it. Finding neutrinos in your own backyard is easy. All you need is a ten-ton vat of pure water, 13000 photomultiplier tubes, and $11 million dollars in research funding. More on that later, but first, it would help to know a little more about what you're hunting.
The neutrino is an elusive beast possessing neither mass nor charge. The only proof of its existence comes in measuring its recoil effect. In the cold heart of subatomic physics, beyond the protons and neutrons that until recently served as the basic building block of atoms, a wellspring of subnuclear particles have been discovered in recent years. This much-theorized-upon neutrino is one of these particles. Research has discovered three types of neutrinos: the electron neutrino, the tau neutrino, and the muon neutrino. An anti-neutrino particle has also been discovered. All are created as the result of particle decay.
Neutrinos, born of decay, are given off as one particle deteriorates into a more stable state. Neutrinos are emitted in positron (another type of subnuclear particle) beta decay while the anti-neutrino is emitted from electron beta decay. As a pion decays into a muon, the muon neutrino emerges along side the muon. When a pion decays, a neutral particle must be emitted in the direction opposite that of the muon in order to conserve momentum. The original assumption was that this particle was the neutrino that conserves momentum in beta decay. In 1962, however, researchers proved that the neutrino accompanying pion decay is different. At t...
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...r for the population at large-- make our teeth whiter and cereal flakes stay crunchy in milk -- or is this just science for science's own sake. What's the payback for looking for neutrinos?
"Bah!" quips Super-K technician R.J. Wilkes, when asked if neutrino research is a big waste of time. He cites that the neutrino discoveries have opened new doors in astrophysics. Understanding neutrinos means a better understanding of nuclear reactions of stars, as in the explosion of SN1987A.
Works Cited:
"Detection of the Free Neutrino: A Confirmation", C.L. Cowan, Jr.,F. Reines, F.B. Harrison, H.W. Kruses and A.D. McGuire, Science 124, 103 (1956).
"40 Years of Neutrino Physics", Frederick Reines, Progress of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Vol. 32, 1 (1994).
Websites
The University of Washington's Super Kariokande Info Page
UC Irvine Physics Department
Physicists started to realize that stable nuclei can be converted to unstable nuclei. Through such process, they discovered that heavy nuclei can undergo nuclear fission. While testing, they added a neutron to an isotope of Uranium 235. This resulted Uranium 235 to become unstable and break down into Barium and Krypton, releasing two to three more neutrons. The breakdown of Uranium 235 is called “fission”.
Nixon’s approach to the war was viewed as Birchesque. He redefined the war by resorting to the excuse of POW/MIA, and successfully reconstructed American’s memory of the war. When the anti-war movement criticized these measures, Nixon did what any Bircher would do: he decried the anti-war movement as a communist conspiracy that was prolonging the war and that deserved to be treated as an internal security threat. Meanwhile he redefined the war by creating a myth of POW/MIA, and successfully created new visions of the war for Americans.
Hester and Dimmesdale’s affair goes undiscovered until Hester is pregnant and bears a child without having her husband present. As her punishment, Hester is forced to stand on the scaffold in the middle of the market place, with an A on her chest. Dimmesdale has not told a single person that he is the adulterer. He sits in the balcony with the Governor, a judge, a general, and the rest of the ministers, watching the display, without any expression or emotion. Hester and Pearl go to the Governor’s home to deliver a pair of gloves, but more importantly to inquire about the possibility of the government taking away her child. Also there with Governor Bellingham are Pastor Wilson, Reverend Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. After Mr. Wilson asks Pearl a few questions, the Governor decides that Hester is unfit as a mother and that the child would be better off in the hands of the church. Hester begs Dimmesdale, whom she says knows everything about her and has charge of her soul, to speak for her. Therefore, he does, convincing the Governor to let Hester keep Pearl. This is Dimmesdale’s first step to becoming the moral blossom. Late at night, a few years after the previous incident, Dimmesdale takes a walk through the town. He climbs onto the scaffold and pretends to confess; though there is no one out at this time at night. Hester and Pearl, on their way home, pass Dimmesdale on the scaffold. Dimmesdale calls out to them and they join him, standing hand in hand in the darkness. Dimmesdale has begun the road to confession by acknowledging Hester and Pearl and by acting out confession. Now he feels guiltier than ever.
It was the late Beatle, John Lennon who once said that “We live in a world where people must hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight.” This refers of course to his distain of the Vietnam War and frankly when you ask someone who was a citizen in America at that time, you will most likely get the same melancholy response. For the better part of 15 years, the Vietnam War was at the forefront of American society in ways that were political, social, and economical. As time went on, public opinion plummeted, leaving President Lyndon Johnson no choice but to decline the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 1968 presidential election. As the Johnson administration transformed into a lame duck, damage control factory, an incredibly intriguing race for the Democratic nomination was brewing. The race included the likes of Senator Robert Kennedy of New York, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Down the stretch, the Vietnam War proved to be the critical issue that mattered most to the electorate. The reasons were that we were spending countless dollars, risking hundreds of thousands of lives, and not making any progress. Kennedy, McCarthy, and Humphrey all agreed that it be brought to a close, however, the ways of which to go about it were in stark contrast. Throughout the majority of the race, Kennedy was the clear favorite to win. However, once he was struck down things changed much to the detriment of the Democratic Party. They would not see a successful President come of office until the early 1990’s due to the complete lack of governmental trust and the way Democrats, in particular, LBJ, handled Vietnam. The mismanageme...
Son of a poverty-stricken shoemaker, raised in a backward province, Joseph Stalin had only a minimum of education. However, he had a burning faith in the destiny of social revolution and an iron determination to play a prominent role in it. His rise to power was bloody and bold, yet under his leadership, in an unexplainable twenty-nine years, Russia because a highly industrialized nation. Stalin was a despotic ruler who more than any other individual molded the features that characterized the Soviet regime and shaped the direction of Europe after World War II ended in 1945. From a young revolutionist to an absolute master of Soviet Russia, Joseph Stalin cast his shadow over the entire globe through his provocative affair in Domestic and Foreign policy.
In one moment, the intellectuals glorified the arrival of a young and freethinking new president, but almost immediately, they blamed his successor of cruelty, continuous lies and desire of war, although the new president’s strategy was basically the same as of his mourned-for predecessor. Richard Nixon’s governing season did not bring much serenity either. Heated resistance against war became even stronger. Nixon wanted to negotiate an honorary departure, which he considered to be almost anything - apart from leaving millions of people, to whom America promised help, to North Vietnamese communists. He took reliability and honor seriously, because he knew that American ability to create peaceful international order depended on them. Nixon and his special advisor claimed that they had a secret plan how to reach “honorable peace”. But peace came slowly, and when it finally arrived, no one could talk about honor. The longest war in the history of The United States ended and left a bitter heritage behind. The war, commenced as a noble quest for democratic ideals showed that it is not easy to bring democracy to the region of the third world, which lacked any historical experience with liberal values. The war, which was supposed to be a parade of American military power, harmed her dignity so seriously, that many young Americans started to see the army as a completely rotten and wrong institution. The war, that was supposed to show the world how strong the United States are in their conviction, actually divided America more than any other event in the twentieth century. The wounds were so deep that even the peace did not bring much joy. The Vietnamese Wa...
In the beginning Josef Stalin was a worshiper of his beloved Vladimir Lenin. He followed his every move and did as he said to help establish and lead the Bolshevik party. Much of the early part of his political career was lost due to his exile to Siberia for most of World War I. It wasn’t until 1928, when he assumed complete control of the country were he made most of his success. After Lenin’s death in January 1924, Stalin promoted his own cult followings along with the cult followings of the deceased leader. He took over the majority of the Socialists now, and immediately began to change agriculture and industry. He believed that the Soviet Union was one hundred years behind the West and had to catch up as quickly as possible. First though he had to seal up complete alliance to himself and his cause.
In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is set in Puritan New England during the 17th century. The scene in which the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale joins Hester and Pearl on the platform to showcase his sin is one which exemplifies Dimmesdale’s acceptance of his actions. Up until this point in the novel, Dimmesdale had hidden the fact that he had engaged in a sexual affair with Hester, a married woman. During the scene, Dimmesdale, distraught with guilt after seven years of living in secret shame, joins Hester in public to show his actions publicly. He then, being riddled with sickness, dies in contentment. Having finally accepted his actions, Dimmesdale can die without the torturous guilt of living a lie. Dimmesdale’s confession and ensuing downfall show that accepting the consequences of one’s own actions is the only way to truly achieve fulfillment and satisfaction in life, where as hiding one’s actions results in inner torture.
After his service in the navy, Nixon ran for a position in congress. He campaigned and told the people that Voorhis, his competitor, was a communist; he won the election without a doubt. Now as a U.S representative, he took charge of the Marshal Plan and other foreign aid programs (Page 434). Nixon was doing very well with his cases and was on the high point of his career, he then ran for U.S senator in 1950 and won by more than 700,000 votes (Page 435). During these elections, he accused his competitors for associating with communists; even though there were no true verifications on those accusations. The people saw him as strong, republican with good intentions for our country.
Joseph Stalin became leader of the USSR after Lenin’s death in 1924. Lenin had a government of abstemious communist government. When Stalin came into government he moved to a radical communist society. He moved away from the somewhat capitalist/communist economy of Lenin time to “modernize” the USSR. He wanted to industrialize and modernize USSR. He had overworked his workers, his people were dying, and most of them in slave labor camps. In fact by doing this Stalin had hindered the USSR and put them even farther back in time.
Joseph Stalin was a realist dictator of the early 20th century in Russia. Before he rose to power and became the leader of Soviet Union, he joined the Bolsheviks and was part of many illegal activities that got him convicted and he was sent to Siberia (Wood, 5, 10). In the late 1920s, Stalin was determined to take over the Soviet Union (Wiener & Arnold 199). The main aspects of his worldview was “socialism
Joseph Stalin is a polarizing figure. Decades after his death his legacy still continues to create debate about his tumultuous years as the leader of the Soviet Union. This is evident throughout the four documents while some praise Stalin as impeccable others criticize his policies and lack of political, economic, and social progress during his regime. Even though Stalin was behind various violations of human rights he was able to maintain the Soviet Union during a time of turmoil both domestically and internationally as a result he has earned notoriety as a great leader and advocate for Marxist ideology.
Puritan minister. Their affair results in a baby named Pearl. Everyone in town is extremely curious about who the father of Pearl is. Dimmesdale and Hester hide their secret from the townspeople, because Dimmesdale is worried his wrongdoing will result in a bad reputation. In addition to going to prison, Hester has to wear the Scarlet Letter, which is an “A”, on her chest every day. Hester also has to stand on the scaffold, so everyone in the town can recognize that she is an adulteress. There are three scaffold scenes in The Scarlet Letter. The three scaffold scenes state “Much emphasis has been placed upon them, and justly so; to know these scenes well is to have a purchase on a romance which is remarkable for its synthesis of elements” (“Scarlet” 109). Dimmesdale starts to feel worse when Hester stands on the scaffold
2) Fundamentals of Physics Extended: Fifth Edition. David Hanley, Robert Resnick, Jearl Walker. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, Chichester, Brisbane, Toronto, Singapore. 1997.
The year 2012 was not only memorable to physicists for its breakthroughs, which include the galaxy motion cluster, neutrino-based communication or the method to see through opaque materials. But it is memorable because 2012 was the year that the physicists working in the Large Hadron Collider announced the detection of the Higgs boson particle.