Frederick Reines co-developed a coincidence method for detecting reactor electron antineutrinos. A prompt Positron signal followed by delayed neutron capture made an otherwise rare interaction recognizable. Calibration sources tested the response, while reactor-off data and changes to the capture conditions tested backgrounds. The result demonstrates why identifying a particle requires a reproducible pattern of observables and controls, rather than an unexplained excess of detector counts.[ref]
Detection of the Free Neutrino: a Confirmation by Clyde Cowan and others. 1956, prompt/delayed signals, calibrations, reactor comparisons and neutron-capture controls
A physicist and founding dean at the University of California, Irvine.[ref]
A Message from the Chair by Manoj Kaplinghat. Independent professional identity
Portrait of Frederick Reines
. US Department of Energy; source Fermilab (fnal.gov); existing Commons contrast adjustment by Hohum. Public domain in the United States (US Department of Energy employee work). Source usage terms, via Wikimedia Commons. Source.
