Exploring the Universe with Cosmic Rays

1
Exploring the Universe with Cosmic Rays

• Jim Linnemann
• Professor of Physics
• Frontiers of Science
• MSU, Oct 16-17, 2003

2
Overview

• History and Physics of Cosmic Rays
• The Milagro Experiment
• A Bit on the Cosmos
• Resources

3
Thanks to Colleagues

• Dan Claes, of U Nebraska CROP project
• Sarah Eno, D0, Quarknet, U Maryland
• Jordan Goodman, Milagro, Quarknet, Umd
• Gus Sinnis and many Milagro Colleagues

4
My Goals for class

• Share my enthusiasm
• How my first field of high energy physics
• science of the very small
• connects with my second field of astrophysics
• science of the very large
• A flavor of mindset and methods of physics
• Welcoming you to my world
• Where extrasensory perception is a daily fact
• Provoke, and try to answer questions!

5
My Background

• Grew up on a farm
• St. Louis U, Cornell
• 6 years at CERN (Geneva Switzerland)
• MSU since 1984
• http//www.pa.msu.edu/people/linnemann/
• Living in Haslett daughter in 3rd grade
• High Energy Particle Physics
• D0 experiment at Fermilab (Chicago)
• starting a MSU program in Cosmic Ray physics
• Sabbatical on Milagro, in Los Alamos, New Mexico
• Im an experimenter
• Build apparatus, perform experiments, test
  theories
• I enjoy collaborative and international research

6
Your Background?

• Do you teach High School?
• Took physics classes in college?
• Do you teach physics?
• Goals for class for you?
• What else would you like me to know?

7
A random example of the power of mathematics

• The same equation
• Governs the radioactive decay of Carbon 14
• The loss of obsolete words in a language
• Is this a wild fluke?
• There is an underlying unity between the
  phenomena
• number lost per unit time is proportional to the
  original number
• Provided by an English major friend, at a
  cosmology lecture
• A remark by one of her linguistics professors