Canada’s renowned astronomer hunts for the universe’smost elusive particle

Every second of every day and night, many trillions of neutrinospass through your body. But most people had never heard of them until they made headlines recently for possibly travelling faster than light. Luckily, these ghostly particles—celebrated in a delightful John Updike poem and (falsely) blamed for heating the Earth’s core in the Hollywood disaster movie 2012—do no harm and leave no trace. They are so difficult to pin down that scientists must use Olympic-sizepools of cleaning fluid deep underground and kilometre-thick sheets of Antarctic ice to catch just a handful. Yet the shadowy neutrinos hold the key to unlocking some of the biggest mysteries of the universe: What was the universe like seconds after the Big Bang? Why is anti-matter so rare? What triggers exploding stars?

The renowned astrophysicist and award-winning science writer Ray Jayawardhana tells us that neutrino research is now entering a brave new era and explains why these pathologically shy particles may spark a revolution in physics. Equally fascinating is the thrilling detective story of neutrino hunters, the scientists we meet on this exciting quest.

RAY JAYAWARDHANA is a professor at the University of Toronto, where he also serves as Canada Research Chair in observational astrophysics.His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Economist and Scientific American, among other publications. The recipient of the 2003 Science Writing Award for a Scientist from the American Institute of Physics, he is the author of Strange New Worlds, named one of Library Journal’s best science books of 2011 and finalist for the Lane Anderson Award for science writing. Jayawardhana lives in Toronto, Ontario.

WEB: rayjay.net
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PRAISE FOR STRANGE NEW WORLDS:

“Anyone scanning the shelves today to learn about such urgent news from the universe should go directly to ‘J’ and take down Ray Jayawardhana’s Strange New Worlds.” —WALL STREET JOURNAL

“An exciting, highly readable glimpse into a discovery that could have broad scientific and cultural implications.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED REVIEW)