Neutrino Hunters, Ray Jayawardhana
Neutrino Hunters, Ray Jayawardhana
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Neutrino Hunters
The Thrilling Chase for a Ghostly Particle to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe

Author: Ray Jayawardhana

Narrator: Bronson Pinchot

Unabridged: 6 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/10/2013


Synopsis

Detective thriller meets astrophysics in this adventure into neutrinos and the scientists who pursue them.For more than eighty years, brilliant and eccentric scientists around the world have been searching for the incredibly small bits of matter we call neutrinos. Trillions of these ghostly particles pass through our bodies every second, but they are so pathologically shy that neutrino hunters have to use Olympic-size pools deep underground and a gigantic cube of Antarctic ice to catch just a handful. Neutrinos may hold the secrets to the nature of antimatter and what the universe was like just seconds after the big bang, but they are extremely elusive and difficult to pin down—much like the adventurous scientists who doggedly pursue them.In Neutrino Hunters, renowned astrophysicist and award-winning author Ray Jayawardhana takes us on a thrilling journey into the shadowy world of neutrinos and the colorful lives of those who chase them. Demystifying particle science along the way, Jayawardhana tells a detective story with cosmic implications—interweaving the tales of the irascible Casanova Wolfgang Pauli; the troubled genius Ettore Majorana, who disappeared without a trace; and Bruno Pontecorvo, whose defection to the Soviet Union caused a Cold War ruckus. Ultimately, Jayawardhana reveals just how significant these fast-moving particles are to the world we live in and why the next decade of neutrino hunting will redefine how we think about physics, cosmology, and our lives on Earth.

About Ray Jayawardhana

Ray Jayawardhana is a professor and Canada research chair in observational astrophysics at the University of Toronto, where he also serves as senior advisor to the president on science engagement. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the EconomistScientific American, Astronomy, Muse, and more. He is the author of Strange New Worlds, which was a finalist for the Lane Anderson Award, one of Library Journal’s best science books of 2011, and the basis of the CBC television documentary The Planet Hunters. He lives in Toronto.

About Bronson Pinchot

Bronson Pinchot, Audible's 2010 Narrator of the Year, has won Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Awards, AudioFile Earphones Awards, Audible's Book of the Year Award, and Audie Awards for recent audiobooks, including Matterhorn, Wise Blood, Occupied City, and The Learners. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale, he is an Emmy- and People's Choice-nominated veteran of movies, television, and Broadway and West End shows. His performance of Malvolio in Twelfth Night was named the highlight of the entire two-year Kennedy Center Shakespeare Festival by the Washington Post.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kevin

Of all the expository discoveries of theoretical physics, I find neutrinos the hardest to conceptualize. Imagine, if you can, a particle that has calculable mass and yet can pass directly through entire planets unhindered and (mostly) unaffected. Neutrinos are so elusive, so hard to detect, that sci......more

If you are not already in love with the neutrino hunters who are spread all around the globe, trying to understand how matter came into existence, after this book, you will be. You won't be able to help falling in love with: - The simple way in which Jayawardhana walks you through the science - The wo......more

Goodreads review by Scott

This is a non-mathematical book written for the general population. It is concerned with the development of our understanding of the neutrino, from its proposition in the 1930's up to modern experiments (as of 2013). The author is an active physics researcher, but his writing style is easy to read.......more

Goodreads review by rebecca

felt like the book was too much biography and too little science, but that's okay. it still gave me a fairly decent recap of some particle physics, which is all i could ask for really. it mentioned the big bang theory (the tv show) twice in the first chapter so that instantly rang some alarm bells. f......more

Goodreads review by Sajith

Only a few years back, a storm of protests broke out in the Indian state of Kerala over the proposed construction of a neutrino observatory on the state’s border with Tamil Nadu. Politicians, including the then opposition leader of the state – who was uneducated – came on the scene amid much fanfare......more


Quotes

“Everything about neutrinos is fascinating. The various dramas associated with their discovery, our efforts to understand their very weird properties, and finally, what they have taught us about fundamental physics, are remarkable. Ray Jayawardhana is the perfect person to convey these exciting stories in Neutrino Hunters, which should be of broad interest.” Lawrence M. Krauss, New York Times bestselling author of  A Universe from Nothing

“With his typical blend of scientific insight and storytelling verve, Ray Jayawardhana vividly, colorfully, and humorously captures the often offbeat characters who, over the past century, have pursued one of the most elusive—and significant—mysteries in the history of physics.” Richard Panek, New York Times bestselling author of The 4% Universe

“Move over Neil deGrasse Tyson and Brian Greene! Ray Jayawardhana is the new dean of popular science—a working scientist who can explain even the most complex matters in a clear and entertaining way. In Neutrino Hunters, he spins a thrilling tale that takes us from the deepest depths of the Earth to the farthest reaches of the universe. A wonderful read from start to finish.” Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award–winning author

“With clarity and wry humor, Jayawardhana relates how Wolfgang Pauli ‘invented’ the neutrino to explain where missing energy went during beta decay, then later bet a case of champagne that it would never be detected experimentally…Jayawardhana vividly illuminates both the particle that has ‘baffled and surprised’ scientists, and the researchers who hunt it.” Publishers Weekly

“Narrator Bronson Pinchot is well matched to this remarkably approachable account of the hunt for the elusive neutrino…While the topic of astrophysics research has the potential to present a challenge to any narrator, Pinchot’s tone conveys a genuine interest in the topic and an eagerness to engage the listener in this unusual detective story.” AudioFile

“When physicist Boris Kayser declares, “If neutrinos did not exist, we would not be here,” he identifies a compellingly immediate reason for investigating these mysterious subatomic particles. But as Jayawardhana teases out the tangled history of neutrino investigations, readers learn of many other reasons that scientists have expended tremendous energy pursuing these elusive gremlins…A tale of revolutionary science and of the colorful personalities of those who did it—must-reading for armchair physicists!” Booklist

“An astrophysicist explains why scientists are eager to learn more about the elusive, ‘pathologically shy’ neutrino…Jayawardhana includes a fascinating account of the disputes between the theorists and experimentalists in this epic scientific adventure story with—as of yet—no last chapter.” Kirkus Reviews

“In this richly detailed and nuanced book, scientist and author Ray Jayawardhana captures the incredible story of one of nature’s most ghostly yet vital ingredients. From the Earth’s core to exploding stars, vanishing scientists, and the very essence of matter in the universe, it’s a wild and immensely satisfying ride.” Caleb Scharf, author of Gravity’s Engines

“This is science from the front lines: Ray Jayawardhana reports on the hunt for one of nature’s most elusive particles, involving scientists around the world, from the frozen plateaus of Antarctica to a nickel mine two kilometers below the forests of northern Ontario. Their prey: a tiny, evanescent speck of energy—the neutrino—that holds the key to some of the deepest puzzles in cosmology and astrophysics. But it’s not just science: Neutrino Hunters also illuminates the thinkers and tinkerers (some brilliant, some eccentric) who have made the quest for the neutrino their life’s work. We are lucky to have Dr. Jayawardhana—a first-rate storyteller who also knows the physics inside and out—to guide us through the science and the personalities behind this remarkable story.” Dan Falk, author of In Search of Time

“Ray Jayawardhana tells a whopping good ghost story. In recent years, researchers have discovered that neutrino particles, the poltergeists of physics that go right through us with nary a bump, promise to reveal much about the Earth, stars, and our cosmic origins. Beautifully written, Neutrino Hunters paints a vivid portrait of this new astronomy for the twenty-first century and the fascinating scientists who put it into place.” Marcia Bartusiak, author of The Day We Found the Universe


Awards

  • Amazon Best Book of the Month
  • Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week