Transcript Hunting the Elusive Neutrino The tiniest sub

ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTATION
IN THE HUNT FOR THE ELUSIVE
NEUTRINO
Scott Chan
Industry Initiative for Science & Math Education
2013
Stanford University
 World-renowned center
for advanced physics
research
 Home to 9 Nobel Prize
winning physicists
 Host to 24 science and
math teachers for
summer research
fellowships in science
and engineering labs
Fundamental Particles
Building Blocks of
all ordinary matter
 Quarks – heaviest; electrically charged
(Protons and Neutrons are made of these)
 Electrons – small electric charges, trivial to find
 Neutrinos – very tiny, uncharged; they pass thru
everything without stopping
image: zauberkugel.blogspot.com
Physicists Probe Fundamental
Particles
 Team of physicists led by Prof Giorgio Gratta
 Alexis Schubert, PhD, diagrams how
sub-atomic particles can be detected
Neutrinos
 Tiniest , lightest sub-atomic particles
 We are bathed in neutrinos; millions pass
harmlessly through our bodies every second
 Most were formed in Big Bang, flying across
the universe for 14 billion years
 Because they are so tiny and don’t interact
with anything, detecting and studying
neutrinos is very difficult
EXO: Enhanced Xenon Observatory
Determining Neutrino’s Mass
 One goal of EXO Experiment is to determine
mass of neutrino
 Neutrinos can be produced by radioactive decay
Ge-76  Se-76 ,or Xe-136  Ba-136
 Need ultra-sensitive electronic sensors to
measure evidence of neutrino production
Image: A. Schubert
EXO : Enhanced Xenon Observatory
 Liquid Xenon chamber buried in mineshaft
 Multi-year experiment to unlock mysteries of
neutrinos
images: L.Kaufman EXO-200 Primer
Accurate and Precise
Measurements are critical in
scientific research
 A small error in measurements could lead to
false conclusions or missed discoveries
 My work involved computer simulation of
proposed detectors and measuring the
sensitivity of the instruments
Professor Gratta’s Labs
 High-energy lasers
 Cryogenic (super-cold) liquids
 (Very low) radiation sources
 Ultra-sensitive electronics
Your Lab Activity:
Exploring Electric Circuits with
Digital Multimeters
 In physics labs, Digital Multimeters (DMMs) are
frequently used to set up experiments
 In your lab activity, you will use a DMM to
measure parts of an electric circuit
 Based on measurements, you will determine the
relationships between voltage, current, and
resistance
Learning to use a
Digital Multimeter
ON-LINE VIDEO TUTORIALS to WATCH
 Measuring Voltage
 http://tinyurl.com/mrchan-voltmeter
 Measuring Current
 http://tinyurl.com/mrchan-ammeter
 Measuring Resistance
 http://tinyurl.com/mrchan-ohmmeter
PRE-LAB QUIZ on using Digital Multimeters