Description
Book SynopsisA mixture of memoir and biography, Chasing the Ghost: Nobelist Fred Reines and the Neutrino tells a deeply human story that appeals both to scientists and non-scientists. Although the book relates to the important discovery of neutrinos, it is more intimately about Fred Reines than the technical details of neutrino physics. Narrated in a fashion to interest and excite the reader, the science presented here is accessible to a broad audience. Coursing through Reines' life, his various challenges and encounters, the book reveals constants of his persona. Reines displayed a sustained consistency as a respected leader, admired by students and colleagues as a fount of big ideas and ambition. A continuing source of inspiration and motivation to others, his most basic consistency was his passion for science. The quest for knowledge about the wondrous universe is a profoundly human endeavor. Fred Reines' life and his unremitting scientific curiosity are emblematic of that truth.
Table of ContentsPreface; Beginnings: Challenge, Determination, and Thinking Big; Language, Science, and the Ghost Particle; Becoming: Becoming a Physicist; The Einstein Letter, the Hidden City, and the Bomb; From Bombs to Neutrinos; Discovery: Explosive Ideas; Hanford and Savannah River; Clyde Cowan; Moving: Moving to Case Institute; California: New University, New Dean; Transition Years at Irvine; Expressions: The "Other" Fred: Music, Performance, Musings; Science and Religion; Classroom Teacher; Validation: IMB and a Decade of Joy and Frustration; Super-K, SNO, and Oscillations; The Nobel Prize and the Last Years; The Legacy Grows; Epilogue; Appendix: An Endearing Reminiscence; Acknowledgements; Endnotes; Index;
