Solar Neutrinos: The First Thirty Years

The papers reprinted in this book depict a research field that is poised to answer some of the fundamental questions of twentieth-century physics and astronomy: How does the sun shine? What is the dark matter? Is there new physics beyond the “standard model”?This book is of interest to students as well as active researchers in the scientific areas spanned by the reprinted papers, which include physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, and engineering. Historians of science, some of whom have already used the solar neutrino problem as a case study, will also find this collection a rich source of examples and insights.Solar Neutrinosgives one the special feeling of being present at the birth of a scientific field. The physical ideas are presented with a simplicity that is unusual in review of papers. By delving into the scientific landmarks reprinted here, one can see clearly how researchers-starting with a paucity of data and with conflicting hypothesis-struggled together to grope their way to a better understanding of the sun and of weak interaction physics. Three new papers have been added to the present paperback version; these papers represent breakthroughs in the field since the original 1994 hardcopy publication.