A hush pervades the deep expanse of space, a realm where the grandest explosions become mere whispers by the time their echoes arrive on Earth. Yet, concealed within that cosmic stillness, streams of subatomic voyagers surge relentlessly. These are neutrinos—ever-present particles that traverse planets, stars, and our own bodies without hindrance.
Clyde Cowan and Frederick Reines, nuclear-weapons physicists, referred to the neutrino as "the smallest amount of material reality ever envisaged by man." That was said in a commentary for Nature in 1956, which was released a short time after a study announcing the experimental discovery of neutrinos was published in science.
Hamish Robertson was a Michigan State professor with tenure in 1980. Since his postdoctoral year in 1971, he had been there, and he was happy. I want to emphasize how appreciated and content I felt there, he says. It was and still is a fantastic location. However, he had started to formulate a concept with his buddy and coworker Tom Bowles that would take him far from MSU. They were coming up with a fresh experiment to determine the mass of the mysteriously light and elusive neutrino.
For centuries, the human race has relied on visible forces to power its world. The burning of fossil fuels propelled the Industrial Revolution, hydroelectric dams harnessed the power of water, and in the modern age, solar and wind energy have become synonymous with the transition to renewables. Yet, despite every advancement, the fundamental challenge remains unchanged—energy generation is still bound by finite resources, geographic constraints, and the unpredictability of nature.