Thirty minutes into a lecture that filled two of AV俱乐部鈥檚 largest classrooms to capacity, Arthur McDonald paused to acknowledge the complexity of what he was describing.
鈥淚t turns out that I haven鈥檛 been very successful, up to this point, in explaining [my research] and having it be understood by people,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got some help from people here in Halifax.鈥�
He then showed , shot in October just after Dr. McDonald 鈥斅燼 native of Cape Breton and a Dal alumnus twice over (BSc鈥�64, MSc鈥�65) 鈥斅爓as announced as . In the segment, Dr. McDonald attempts to explain his research on neutrinos, one of the universe鈥檚 fundamental particles, in simpler and simpler terms until, as a last resort, he describes them in terms of a classic Canadian delicacy.
鈥淚 must be the first person that ever won a Nobel Prize in Timbits,鈥� he says in the clip, sorting through a familiar yellow box of chocolate, cherry-filled and old-fashioned glazed treats.
Such extreme simplification wasn鈥檛 necessary at Monday night鈥檚 lecture, which attracted physics aficionados and professionals of all stripes: from 12-year-old schoolkids eager to hear from a local science hero to faculty members who taught Dr. McDonald during his time at AV俱乐部. But Dr. McDonald did his best to ensure everyone in the audience 鈥斅爓hich filled the McCain Building鈥檚 Ondaatje Hall and a livestream overflow room in the Scotiabank Auditorium 鈥斅燾ould relate to and understand the significance of his research.
鈥淎s a fellow physicist, it warms my heart to see so many people out here,鈥� said Dal President Richard Florizone, who in his introduction recalled being a graduate student and first hearing about the research out of Dr. McDonald鈥檚 lab in Sudbury. 鈥淚t was very exciting and very groundbreaking work.鈥�
Shifting our understanding of the universe
Monday鈥檚 lecture was not Dr. McDonald鈥檚 first return to his alma mater: he received an honorary degree from AV俱乐部 in 1997 and also delivered the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science鈥檚 E.W. Guptill Memorial Lecture in 2005. But Monday was first time back at AV俱乐部 as a Nobel Laureate.
Video: Watch Dr. McDonald's lecture at
Dr. McDonald, professor emeritus at Queen鈥檚 University, was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics together with Takaaki Kajita (University of Tokyo) for research contributing to our understanding of neutrinos 鈥斅爐iny, subatomic particles generated in nuclear reactions within the sun that make their way to Earth, where they can pass through matter quite easily. Dr. McDonald explained that if you were to hold your thumb up to the sun, for example, there would be approximately 5 billion neutrinos going through your thumbnail in a single second. 聽
鈥淭hey鈥檙e outside people鈥檚 normal experience, but they鈥檙e very basic 鈥� along with electrons and quarks, they are the particles that we don鈥檛 know how to subdivide any further,鈥� explained Dr. McDonald. 鈥淎nd they, together with the four forces, are what make up what is known as the standard model of elementary particles.鈥�
This standard model presumed that neutrinos did not change their type, or 鈥渇lavour,鈥� in their journey from the sun to the earth because they didn鈥檛 have any mass. It was Dr. McDonald and his team that proved otherwise with their experiments at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, or 鈥淪NO.鈥�
SNO inspired the title of Dr. McDonald鈥檚 lecture 鈥斅�How to tell a neutrino from a hole in the ground 鈥斅燽ecause it was, literally, built in a hole in the ground. The laboratory is housed 2 kilometres underground at the Creighton Mine in Sudbury, built around a 1,000 tonne spherical detector filled with heavy water that can measure neutrinos travelling from the sun with great accuracy.
鈥淲e detect faint bursts of light, once an hour, from the sun, and we could eliminate all the other sources of radioactivity and make a clean measurement of neutrinos from the sun by doing that,鈥� explained Dr. McDonald. 鈥淭hat enables us to understand, also, the way neutrinos affect the way the universe has evolved from the very early days, on the largest scales 鈥斅爐he original big bang 鈥斅爐o the most microscopic.鈥�
And if that seems a bit too abstract, Dr. McDonald explained that understanding the physics of how neutrinos are generated within the sun is crucial to scientists working to figure out how to harness nuclear fusion to generate new sources of energy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a prime example of how if you understand the laws of physics at a very detailed level, you can eventually apply that for the benefit of mankind,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening as people use this information about how the sun burns to try to generate fusion power here on earth.鈥�
A Dal-inspired legacy
In his lecture, Dr. McDonald detailed the history and evolution of his research and the SNO lab, from its early days as a project of 16 faculty members to a global collaboration that eventually counted 270 different researchers as paper co-authors. He showed photographs of visits from Stephen Hawking, shared images of mini-submarines used to swim through the detector鈥檚 heavy water, and discussed future research in the now-expanded SNOlab into everything from supernovas to dark matter.
He also talked about the experience of receiving his Nobel Prize in Sweden last December, which involved a week-long schedule with at least three major events each day. With about 15 of his collaborators also in attendance, he dined with Swedish royalty, delivered his Nobel lecture and (in typically Canadian fashion) was excited to meet Swedish former NHLer Mats Sundin, who played for Dr. McDonald鈥檚 favourite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
鈥淚t was the most unique week of my life, and certainly my wife Janet鈥檚,鈥� said Dr. McDonald. 鈥淲e just had a wonderful time.鈥�
Monday night鈥檚 lecture was also an opportunity for Dr. McDonald to reconnect with his AV俱乐部 roots. Earlier in the day while conducting media interviews, he caught up with his former student Ian Hill, now acting dean of the Faculty of Science. The Nobel Laureate also thumbed through a hard copy of his master鈥檚 thesis 鈥� which, with some work added to it after his time at Dal, is still one of the most highly cited papers of his career 鈥� before taking a peek at his old lab in the Sir James Dunn Building. As he walked through the halls, he asked passing students about their research interests.
鈥淗ere at Dal, I really got a great education. I enjoyed my undergraduate work very much, my excellent professors,鈥� he said as he pointed to some of them in attendance, 鈥渁nd also had a great experience in my master鈥檚 degree, learning how to do experimental science for the first time.鈥�
He strongly emphasized that the sort of groundbreaking science he conducted in his career can be done right here in Canada: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e limited only by your own energy and your own creativity,鈥� he told students. And, in closing, he shared the motto of one of his mentors, Nobel Laureate and CalTech professor Willie Fowler: translated from Latin, 鈥渢o the stars, with work and fun.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of fun in my career doing science,鈥� said Dr. McDonald. 鈥淎nd it started with the attitude people have here at Dal: work hard, and enjoy what you鈥檙e doing.鈥�
Video: Watch Dr. McDonald's lecture at