The telescope in the ice : inventing a new astronomy at the South Pole

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Bowen, Mark (Mark Stander)

Physical Description:

viii, 424 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Summary:

The IceCube Observatory has been called the “weirdest” of the seven wonders of modern astronomy by Scientific American. In The Telescope in the Ice, Mark Bowen tells the amazing story of the people who built the instrument and the science involved. Located near the U. S. Amundsen-Scott Research Station at the geographic South Pole, IceCube is unlike most telescopes in that it is not designed to detect light. It employs a cubic kilometer of diamond-clear ice, more than a mile beneath the surface, to detect an elementary particle known as the neutrino. In 2010, it detected the first extraterrestrial high-energy neutrinos and thus gave birth to a new field of astronomy. IceCube is also the largest particle physics detector ever built. Its scientific goals span not only astrophysics and cosmology but also pure particle physics. And since the neutrino is one of the strangest and least understood of the known elementary particles, this is fertile ground. Neutrino physics is perhaps the most active field in particle physics today, and IceCube is at the forefront. The Telescope in the Ice is, ultimately, a book about people and the thrill of the chase: the struggle to understand the neutrino and the pioneers and inventors of neutrino astronomy. It is a success story.

Contents:

Introduction: Making mistakes -- Part I. The birth and youth of the neutrino -- This crazy child -- Infancy and youth -- From poltergeist to particle -- Part II. The dream of neutrino astronomy -- Wisconsin-style physics -- Peaceful exploration by interested scientists throughout the world -- Science at its best -- Part III. Touching the mystery -- Solid-state DUMAND -- Enter Bruce -- The crossover -- A supernova of science -- Doubling down -- Glory days -- Night on the ice -- The first nus -- The Peacock and Eva events -- Y2K at Pole -- Part IV. The real thing -- Sometimes you get what you ask for -- No new starts -- The coming of Yeck -- Failure and success -- As quickly as it all began... -- Crossing the threshold -- Epilogue: The dawn of multi-messenger astronomy.

Subject Term:

Neutrinos

Publication Info:

New York : St. Martins Press, [2017]

Subject:

Neutrinos

IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory

Ice Cube South Pole Neutrino Observatory

IceCube Neutrino Observatory

IceCube Observatory

IceCube Research Station

Neutret

SAILS ISBN:

9781137280084

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Foxboro - Boyden Library	522.686 BOWEN	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Located near the U. S. Amundsen-Scott Research Station at the geographic South Pole, IceCube is unlike most telescopes in that it is not designed to detect light. It employs a cubic kilometre of diamond-clear ice, more than a mile beneath the surface, to detect an elementary particle known as the neutrino. In 2010, it detected the first extraterrestrial high-energy neutrinos and thus gave birth to a new field of astronomy.IceCube is also the largest particle physics detector ever built. Its scientific goals span not only astrophysics and cosmology but also pure particle physics. And since the neutrino is one of the strangest and least understood of the known elementary particles, this is fertile ground. Neutrino physics is perhaps the most active field in particle physics today, and IceCube is at the forefront.The Telescope in the Ice is, ultimately, a book about people and the thrill of the chase: the struggle to understand the neutrino and the pioneers and inventors of neutrino astronomy.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

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.

Booklist Review

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

Library Journal Review

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.

Introduction: Making Mistakes	p. 1
Part 1 The Birth and Youth of the Neutrino
1 This Crazy Child	p. 17
2 Infancy and Youth	p. 36
3 From Poltergeist to Particle	p. 50
Part II The Dream of Neutrino Astronomy
4 Wisconsin-Style Physics	p. 67
5 Peaceful Exploration by Interested Scientists Throughout the World	p. 87
6 Science at Its Best	p. 100
Part III Touching the Mystery
7 Solid-State DUMAND	p. 121
8 Enter Bruce	p. 140
9 The Crossover	p. 163
10 A Supernova of Science	p. 175
11 Doubling Down	p. 192
12 Glory Days	p. 204
13 Night on the Ice	p. 217
14 The First Nus	p. 229
15 The Peacock and Eva Events	p. 245
16 Y2K at Pole	p. 265
Part IV The Real Thing
17 Sometimes You Get What You Ask For	p. 279
18 No New Starts	p. 288
19 The Coming of Yeck	p. 305
20 Failure and Success	p. 315
21 As Quickly as It All Began ...	p. 329
22 Crossing the Threshold	p. 347
Epilogue: The Dawn of Multi-Messenger Astronomy	p. 368
Acknowledgments	p. 376
Acronyms	p. 379
Timeline	p. 381
Notes	p. 387
References and Bibliography	p. 401
Index	p. 416
Illustrations
Beta decay	p. 44
Muon decay	p. 45
The Markov or "plum pudding" design	p. 71
The Greisen or "shell" design	p. 74
Schematic of IceCube	p. 342

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Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

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