James W. Cronin, Nobel Laureate in Physics and Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago, delivered this lecture in April 2011. In his lecture, James Cronin traces the evolution of cosmic ray research throughout the 20th century and into the present. He recounts how early pioneers first detected these ultra-high-energy particles and how experimental methods have progressed — from cloud chambers to modern ground-based and space-borne detectors — to uncover the nature of these mysterious phenomena. Cronin also addresses the key open questions: Where do the most energetic cosmic rays come from? How are they accelerated in astrophysical environments? And what is their connection to extreme events such as supernovae or black holes?
This lecture is part of the astrophysics series ‘The Science of the Cosmos, the Science in the Cosmos’, tackles the fundamental questions in contemporar
James W. Cronin, Nobel Laureate in Physics and Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago, delivered this lecture in April 2011. In his lecture, James Cronin traces the evolution of cosmic ray research throughout the 20th century and into the present. He recounts how early pioneers first detected these ultra-high-energy particles and how experimental methods have progressed — from cloud chambers to modern ground-based and space-borne detectors — to uncover the nature of these mysterious phenomena. Cronin also addresses the key open questions: Where do the most energetic cosmic rays come from? How are they accelerated in astrophysical environments? And what is their connection to extreme events such as supernovae or black holes?
This lecture is part of the astrophysics series ‘The Science of the Cosmos, the Science in the Cosmos’, tackles the fundamental questions in contemporary astrophysics.Why, at some point some 13 billion years ago, did a tiny, hot universe begin expanding in a Big Bang? The birth of the universe, as well as the formation of stars and planets, are explored in the first edition.
