Andrew Yee
November 9th 05, 03:36 AM
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
Contact:
Edmund G. Myers, 850-644-4040
November 8, 2005
What does 'almost nothing' weigh? FSU physicist aims to find out
By Christine Suh
If subatomic particles had personalities, neutrinos would be the ultimate
wallflowers.
One of the most basic particles of matter in the universe, they've been
around for 14 billion years and permeate every inch of space, but they're
so inconceivably tiny that they've been called "almost nothing" and pass
straight through things -- for example, the Earth -- without a bump.
So it's easy to see why no one thought they existed until the 1930s, and
why it wasn't until the 1950s that scientists were finally able to confirm
their inconspicuous presence. It's also easy to see why their masses, once
believed to be zero, remain so elusive, but could help unlock the
universe's mysteries on everything from dark matter to the births of
galaxies.
With a Precision Measurement Grant from the National Institute of
Standards and Technology that will provide up to $150,000 in funding over
three years, Florida State University research physicist Edmund G. Myers
and student researchers hope to meet part of that challenge by measuring
the precise difference in mass of tritium, a form of hydrogen, and
helium-3 atoms. This will help pin down the mass of the electron neutrino.
To make such a measurement, Myers will use the state-of-the-art Penning
trap that he brought to FSU from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 2003. It's arguably the most precise equipment made for the purpose of
determining atomic mass.
"With neutrino mass, the game is to keep lowering the upper limit until
you find it," Myers said.
Right now, that ceiling is around 2 electron Volts (eV). Myers' work,
combined with results from other experiments, could drop this by a factor
of at least 10, to 0.2 eV or even lower. By comparison, an electron, which
is probably the lightest commonly known subatomic particle, has a mass of
511,000 eV.
Myers was one of two recipients of this year's Precision Measurement
Grants, which the National Institute of Standards and Technology has been
awarding since 1970. Among the 34 applications, Myers' research stood out
because it so snugly fit the institute's mission to support physics
research at the most fundamental level, said Peter Mohr, the institute's
grant program manager.
"What he's doing is very precise measurements," Mohr said. "The results
are very important."
To learn more about the nuclear and atomic physics research taking place
at FSU, please visit the physics department's Web site at
http://www.physics.fsu.edu
Tallahassee, Florida
Contact:
Edmund G. Myers, 850-644-4040
November 8, 2005
What does 'almost nothing' weigh? FSU physicist aims to find out
By Christine Suh
If subatomic particles had personalities, neutrinos would be the ultimate
wallflowers.
One of the most basic particles of matter in the universe, they've been
around for 14 billion years and permeate every inch of space, but they're
so inconceivably tiny that they've been called "almost nothing" and pass
straight through things -- for example, the Earth -- without a bump.
So it's easy to see why no one thought they existed until the 1930s, and
why it wasn't until the 1950s that scientists were finally able to confirm
their inconspicuous presence. It's also easy to see why their masses, once
believed to be zero, remain so elusive, but could help unlock the
universe's mysteries on everything from dark matter to the births of
galaxies.
With a Precision Measurement Grant from the National Institute of
Standards and Technology that will provide up to $150,000 in funding over
three years, Florida State University research physicist Edmund G. Myers
and student researchers hope to meet part of that challenge by measuring
the precise difference in mass of tritium, a form of hydrogen, and
helium-3 atoms. This will help pin down the mass of the electron neutrino.
To make such a measurement, Myers will use the state-of-the-art Penning
trap that he brought to FSU from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 2003. It's arguably the most precise equipment made for the purpose of
determining atomic mass.
"With neutrino mass, the game is to keep lowering the upper limit until
you find it," Myers said.
Right now, that ceiling is around 2 electron Volts (eV). Myers' work,
combined with results from other experiments, could drop this by a factor
of at least 10, to 0.2 eV or even lower. By comparison, an electron, which
is probably the lightest commonly known subatomic particle, has a mass of
511,000 eV.
Myers was one of two recipients of this year's Precision Measurement
Grants, which the National Institute of Standards and Technology has been
awarding since 1970. Among the 34 applications, Myers' research stood out
because it so snugly fit the institute's mission to support physics
research at the most fundamental level, said Peter Mohr, the institute's
grant program manager.
"What he's doing is very precise measurements," Mohr said. "The results
are very important."
To learn more about the nuclear and atomic physics research taking place
at FSU, please visit the physics department's Web site at
http://www.physics.fsu.edu