[astroCS] Nobelova cena za fyziky 2003
Jan Rybak
choc at ta3.sk
Wed Oct 9 04:25:14 UTC 2002
Vazene kolegyne a vazeni kolegovia,
ako som uz informoval na vcerajsom ustavnom seminari, tohtorocnu
Nobelovu cenu za fyziku ziskali traja astrofyzici :
Raymond Davis a Masatoshi Koshiba
'for pioneering contributions to
astrophysics, in particular for the
detection of cosmic neutrinos'
a Riccardo Giacconi
'for pioneering contributions to
astrophysics, which have led to
the discovery of cosmic
X-ray sources'
Prikladam par informacii a prijemnu pracu praje
Jano Rybak (choc at astro.sk)
TL, 9/10/2002
PS : viac podrobnosti : http://www.nobel.se
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Two New Windows on the Universe
The Earth lies in the path of a continuous flux
of cosmic particles and other types of radiation. This year's
Nobel Laureates in Physics have used these very smallest components
of the universe to increase our understanding of the very largest:
the Sun, stars, galaxies and supernovae. The new knowledge has changed
the way we look upon the universe.
The mysterious particle called a neutrino was predicted as early
as 1930 by Wolfgang Pauli (Nobel Prize in 1945), but it would take
25 years to prove its existence (by Frederick Reines, Nobel Prize
in 1995). This is because neutrinos, which are formed in the fusion
processes in the Sun and other stars when hydrogen is converted
into helium, hardly interact at all with matter and are therefore
very difficult to detect. For example, thousands of billions of
neutrinos pass through us every second without our noticing them.
Raymond Davis Jr constructed a completely new detector, a
gigantic tank filled with 600 tonnes of fluid, which was placed
in a mine. Over a period of 30 years he succeeded in capturing a
total of 2,000 neutrinos from the Sun and was thus able to prove
that fusion provided the energy from the Sun. With another gigantic
detector, called Kamiokande, a group of researchers led by Masatoshi
Koshiba was able to confirm Davis's results. They were
also able, on 23 February 1987, to detect neutrinos from a distant
supernova explosion. They captured twelve of the total of 10"-1"
neutrinos (10,000,000,000,000,000) that passed through the detector.
The work of Davis and Koshiba has led to unexpected discoveries
and a new, intensive field of research, neutrino-astronomy.
The Sun and all other stars emit electromagnetic radiation at different
wavelengths, both visible and invisible light, e.g. X-rays. In order
to investigate cosmic X-ray radiation, which is absorbed in Earth's
atmosphere, it is necessary to place instruments in space. Riccardo
Giacconi has constructed such instruments. He detected for the
first time a source of X-rays outside our solar system and he was
the first to prove that the universe contains background radiation
of X-ray light. He also detected sources of X-rays that most astronomers
now consider to contain black holes. Giacconi constructed the first
X-ray telescopes, which have provided us with completely new -
and sharp - images of the universe. His contributions laid
the foundations of X-ray astronomy.
Raymond Davis Jr, born 1914 (87 years), in Washington, DC,
USA (US citizen). PhD in Chemistry 1942 at Yale University, Connecticut,
USA. Professor Emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
Masatoshi Koshiba, born 1926 (76 years), in Toyohashi , Aichi,
Japan (Japanese citizen). PhD 1955 at the University of Rochester,
New York, USA. Professor Emeritus at the International Center for
Elementary Particle Physics, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Riccardo Giacconi, born 1931 (71 years), in Genoa, Italy
(US citizen). PhD 1954 at the University of Milan. President of
Associated Universities, Inc., Washington, DC, USA.
Prize amount: SEK 10 million. Davis and Koshiba share one
half and Giacconi receives the other half.
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Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2002 16:40:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: NASANews at hq.nasa.gov
Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington October 8, 2002
(Phone: 202/358-1753)
RELEASE: 02-197
NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS AWARDED TO ASTRONOMER
FOR NASA-FUNDED RESEARCH
Riccardo Giacconi, the "father of X-ray astronomy," has
received the Nobel Prize in physics for "pioneering
contributions to astrophysics," which have led to the
discovery of cosmic
X-ray sources.
Giaconni, president of the Associated Universities Inc., in
Washington, and Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy
at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, discovered the first
X-ray stars and the X-ray background in the 1960s and
conceived of and led the implementation of the Uhuru and High
Energy Astronomy Observatory-2 (HEAO-2) X-ray observatories
in the 1970s. With funding from NASA, he also detected
sources of X-rays that most astronomers now consider to
contain black holes.
Giacconi said that receiving the award confirms the
importance of X-ray astronomy. "I think I'm one of the first
to get the Nobel prize for work with NASA, so that's good for
NASA and I think it's also good for the field," he said.
"It's also nice for all the other people who've worked in
this field. I recognize that I was never alone. I'm happy for
me personally, I'm happy for my family, and I'm happy for the
field and for NASA," Giacconi added.
In 1976, Giacconi along with Harvey Tananbaum of the Harvard-
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass.,
submitted a proposal letter to NASA to initiate the study and
design of a large X-ray telescope. In 1977 work began on the
program, which was then known as the Advanced X-ray
Astrophysics Facility and in 1998 renamed the Chandra X-ray
Observatory.
"Partnerships with universities and scientists are essential
in our quest to answer the fundamental questions of the
universe," said Dr. Ed Weiler, NASA Associate Administrator
for Space Science, Headquarters, Washington. "Dr. Giacconi's
achievements are a brilliant example of this synergy among
NASA, universities and their community of scientists and
students," he said.
Giacconi is Principal Investigator for the ultradeep survey
with Chandra -- the "Chandra Deep Field South" -- that has
already obtained the deepest X-ray exposures to date with a
million-second observation. He was also the first director of
the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
Giacconi, 71, received half the prize. Raymond Davis Jr., 87,
of the University of Pennsylvania and Masatoshi Koshiba, 76,
of the University of Tokyo will share the other half of the
prize, worth about $1 million, for their research into cosmic
neutrinos.
For more information visit:
http://www.nobel.se
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