Photo Courtesy of Brookhaven
National Laboratory (BNL)
Raymond Davis, Jr., Solar Neutrinos,
and the Solar Neutrino Problem
· Resources with Additional
Information
Raymond Davis, Jr., who conducted research in the Chemistry Department
at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) from
1948 through 1984, was awarded the 2002 Nobel
Prize in Physics "for pioneering contributions to astrophysics,
in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos." Dr. Davis is also a recipient of the 2003 Fermi Award. He was
the first scientist to detect solar neutrinos, ghostlike particles produced
in the nuclear reactions that power the sun.
"Neutrinos are fascinating particles, so tiny and fast that they can pass straight through everything, even the earth itself, without even slowing down," said Davis. "When I began my work, I was intrigued by the idea of learning something new. The interesting thing about doing new experiments is that you never know what the answer is going to be!"
In research that spanned from 1967–1985, Davis consistently found only one-third of the neutrinos that standard theories predicted. His results threw the field of astrophysics into an uproar, and, for nearly three decades, physicists tried to resolve the so-called "solar neutrino puzzle." Experiments in the 1990s using different detectors around the world eventually confirmed the solar neutrino discrepancy.
While at Brookhaven, Ray Davis conducted research and experiments in
solar neutrinos at Homestake Gold Mine in South Dakota. This research
was funded by the Atomic
Energy Commission (AEC), the Energy
Research and Development Administration (ERDA), and the Department
of Energy (DOE).
Dr. Davis became a research professor at the University of Pennsylvania
in 1985 where he continues experiments at Homestake. He earned a B.S.
and an M.S. from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry
from Yale University.
Additional information about Raymond Davis and solar neutrinos is available
in full-text DOE reports and on the Web.
Documents:
Solar Neutrinos, DOE Technical Report, December 1964
Solar Neutrinos. II. Experimental DOE Technical Report,
Phys. Rev. Letters; Vol: 12, March 16, 1964
Search for Neutrinos from the Sun DOE Technical Report, Phys. Rev. Letters; Vol: 20, May 20, 1968
Report on the Brookhaven Solar Neutrino Experiment,
DOE Technical Report, September 1976
Solar Neutrino Problem, DOE Technical Report, April 1978
Variations in the Solar Neutrino Flux, DOE Technical Report, August
1987
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