Randall Jarrell
poet, critic, novelist, essayist
Frederick Reines
American physicist (1918-1998)
Frederick Reines was an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment.
Table of Contents
Occupation
About the Frederick Reines
Frederick Reineswas an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment. He may be the only scientist in history “so intimately associated with the discovery of an elementary particle and the subsequent thorough investigation of its fundamental properties.”
A graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology and New York University, Reines joined the Manhattan Project’s Los Alamos Laboratory in 1944, working in the Theoretical Division in Richard Feynman’s group. He became a group leader there in 1946. He participated in a number of nuclear tests, culminating in his becoming the director of the Operation Greenhouse test series in the Pacific in 1951.
In the early 1950s, working in Hanford and Savannah River Sites, Reines and Cowan developed the equipment and procedures with which they first detected the supposedly undetectable neutrinos in June 1956. Reines dedicated the major part of his career to the study of the neutrino’s properties and interactions, which work would influence study of the neutrino for many researchers to come. This included the detection of neutrinos created in the atmosphere by cosmic rays, and the 1987 detection of neutrinos emitted from Supernova SN1987A, which inaugurated the field of neutrino astronomy.
14 Quotes by Frederick Reines
- 1.
Our home had many books due principally to the educational interests of my sister and two brothers, all of whom where serious students engaged in professional studies; my sister became a doctor of medicine and my brothers became lawyers.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 2.
I served as Dean until 1974, when I stepped down to return to full time teaching and research.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 3.
In 1956 we observed the electron antineutrino.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 4.
I received my undergraduate degree in engineering in 1939 and a Master of Science degree in mathematical physics in 1941 at Steven Institute of Technology.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 5.
However, I had a chance encounter with an admissions officer of Stevens Institute of Technology, who so impressed me by his erudition and enthusiasm for the school that I changed course and entered Stevens Institute.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 6.
I turned my attention for a while to gamma ray astronomy and soon began the first in a continous series of experiments at the Savannah River site to study the properties of the neutrino.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 7.
This line of research continued when I went, and brought my research group with me, to the new University of California, Irvine campus in 1966 to become the founding Dean of the School of Physical Sciences.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 8.
Most of these experiments required the reduction of the cosmic ray muon flux in order to be successful, and the group necessarily became expert in the operation of deep underground laboratories.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 9.
During my participation in the Manhattan Project and subsequent research at Los Alamos, encompassing a period of fifteen years, I worked in the company of perhaps the greatest collection of scientific talent the world has ever known.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 10.
My early childhood memories center around this typical American country store and life in a small American town, including 4th of July celebrations marked by fireworks and patriotic music played from a pavilion bandstand.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 11.
In 1958, I was a delegate to the Atoms for Peace conference in Geneva.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 12.
I was strongly encouraged by a science teacher who took an interest in me and presented me with a key to the laboratory to allow me to work whenever I wanted.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 13.
Over the years, a number of other intriguing experimental ideas and areas of investigation have been the objects of my attention, and I have devoted some time and effort to exploring the inherent possbilities.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)
- 14.
Among my activities was membership in the Boy Scouts; I rose each year through the ranks, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and undertaking leadership roles in the organization.
Frederick ReinesAmerican physicist (1918-1998)