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The Elusive Neutrino and the Nature of the Cosmos

Friday, June 1, 2012
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

The neutrino is among the cagiest of particles, a subatomic wisp so ephemeral it could pass through light-years of lead with more ease than a hot knife through butter. Despite its extraordinary abundance in the universe—billions pass through your body every second—this ghostly particle is notoriously difficult to trap, inspiring some of the most sophisticated detectors in science just to study it. A closer look could change everything. The elusive neutrino holds clues to some of the most profound questions in particle physics: What happened in the briefest moments after the Big Bang? Why does the universe contain more matter than antimatter? Join leading researchers as they chase neutrinos and other elusive particles in search of nature’s fundamental order.

This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Moderator

Bill WeirJournalist

Bill Weir is an award-winning broadcast journalist, anchor and special correspondent for CNN. With a focus on our connected planet, he created and hosted The Wonder List with Bill Weir.

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Participants

Janet ConradPhysicist

Janet Conrad’s work focuses on the lightest known particle of matter, the neutrino. The number of neutrinos in the universe far exceeds the number of atoms, yet we know surprisingly little about them. Conrad is now exploring whether neutrinos have other unexpected properties and is working to develop an updated model for particle physics that incorporates these new surprises.

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Francis HalzenExperimental Physicist

Francis Halzen has spent over 20 years working on telescopes that detect not light, but neutrinos—tiny, high-energy particles released by violent astronomical events like exploding stars, gamma-ray bursts and crashing black holes.

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Lawrence KraussPhysicist, Author

Lawrence Krauss is an internationally known theoretical physicist and best-selling author. His research focuses on the intersection of cosmology and elementary particle physics. Krauss’s work addresses questions about the origin of matter in the universe.

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John RobinsonRapper, Performer

The fundamentals of foundational hip-hop pulsate vibrantly through the veins of the multi-dimensional artist, John Robinson. This native New Yorker has sojourned and resided in the underground scenes of New York, New Jersey, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

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