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Bowen's (Thin Ice) marvelous tale of the development of a new kind of telescope that detects neutrinos, or subatomic particles that rarely interact with matter they pass through, tells how physicist Francis Halzen designed a telescope that pointed toward space, removing any false positive findings. Also discussed is AMANDA (Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array), a series of light detectors buried within a mile of ice at the geographic South Pole at IceCube Neutrino Observatory. As neutrinos pass through the Earth, they sometimes interact with the ice and create a charged particle that emits blue light. By tracking this light, observers can locate the neutrino and verify its existence. This book begins with an introduction of how AMANDA operates and the main players involved. Bowen then jumps back 20 years to the initial meetings for the development of AMANDA, the engineering it took to build, and the trials and failures of the entire project. -VERDICT Concluding with a helpful list of acronyms, this useful reference work belongs in any physics and astronomy collection.-Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
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Bowen, a physicist and writer, immerses readers deep in Antarctic ice as he offers a mesmerizing look at a development in cutting-edge astrophysics with which few people are familiar: the South Pole's IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the "weirdest" telescope in the world. Instead of gathering data from starlight, IceCube searches for neutrinos-electrically neutral, nearly massless particles that have fascinated and frustrated physicists since they were first proposed by Wolfgang Pauli in the 1930s. As Bowen explains, astrophysicists are interested in neutrinos because they come from places that regular telescopes never see: stellar interiors, supernovae, and the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies. Bowen describes how IceCube hunts neutrinos with sensitive detectors sunk more than a mile deep in Antarctic ice. The detectors look "down" through the Earth, using it as a shield to block cosmic rays and in turn make evidence of neutrinos easier to identify in the ice. Bowen relates the story of IceCube with wry humor and enthusiasm, bringing to life the researchers, their rivalries, and their challenges, as well as the science. Infusing groundbreaking inquiry with the spirit of those who carry it out, Bowen delivers a tale that's part educational, part inspirational, and all adventure. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. |
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At the South Pole there is a large, expensive, and strange scientific instrument. Aptly named IceCube, it consists of holes drilled thousands of feet into the ice cap, down which have been lowered strings of optical sensors designed to detect what physicists call Cherenkov light, the result of a collision of a neutrino with an atomic nucleus, a rare event that can reveal a high-energy astrophysical source such as a supernova. Bowen (Censoring Science, 2008) recounts the IceCube's genesis, explaining that it must reside below Earth's surface to shield it from cosmic rays; details the construction of IceCube, which was completed in 2011; then brings readers to the U.S. base at the South Pole and its contemporary physicists and their quests. Sketching portraits of dozens of scientists and drillers involved in the project, Bowen integrates their specific investigative fields with individual and institutional assertions of scientific and financial control over the IceCube effort and the conflicts that ensued. Though challenging for casual readers, Bowen's insider's history of this remarkable device will reward those drawn to cutting-edge astrophysics.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2017 Booklist |