Schwartz, Melvin

Schwartz, Melvin
▪ 2007

      American physicist and entrepreneur (b. Nov. 2, 1932, New York, N.Y.—d. Aug. 28, 2006, Twin Falls, Idaho), along with Leon M. Lederman and Jack Steinberger, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1988 for research concerning neutrinos (subatomic particles that have no electric charge and virtually no mass). Schwartz studied physics at Columbia University, New York City, and received a Ph.D. there in 1958. He taught (1958–66) at Columbia and then served (1966–83) as professor of physics at Stanford University. From 1970 he was president of Digital Pathways, Inc., a company that he founded to design computer security systems. Schwartz received the Nobel Prize for research he and his Columbia colleagues Lederman and Steinberger conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y., in 1960–62. Neutrinos almost never interact with matter, and it consequently had been extremely difficult to detect them in laboratory research. (It was estimated that from a sample of 10 billion neutrinos traveling through the Earth, only one neutrino would interact with a particle of matter during the entire passage.) Acting on Schwartz's suggestion, the three researchers devised a way to increase the statistical probability of neutrino interactions by producing a beam consisting of hundreds of billions of neutrinos and sending the beam through a detector of solid matter. To achieve this, the scientists used a particle accelerator to generate a stream of high-energy protons, which were then fired at a target made of the metal beryllium. The bombardment produced a stream of different particles, including those called pions (pi-mesons), that, as they traveled, decayed into muons (mu-mesons) and neutrinos. The stream of particles exiting from the beryllium target then passed through a steel barrier 13.4 m (44 ft) thick that filtered out all other particles except neutrinos. This pure neutrino beam subsequently entered a large aluminum detector in which a few neutrinos interacted with the aluminum atoms. In analyzing these interactions, the three physicists discovered a new type of neutrino, which came to be known as the muon neutrino.

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▪ American physicist
born Nov. 2, 1932, New York, N.Y., U.S.
died Aug. 28, 2006, Twin Falls, Idaho

      American physicist and entrepreneur who, along with Leon M. Lederman (Lederman, Leon Max) and Jack Steinberger (Steinberger, Jack), received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1988 for their research concerning neutrinos (neutrino) (subatomic particles that have no electric charge and virtually no mass).

      Schwartz studied physics at Columbia University, New York City, and received a Ph.D. there in 1958. He taught at Columbia from 1958 to 1966 and then was a professor of physics at Stanford University, Calif., from 1966 to 1983. In 1970 he founded Digital Pathways, Inc., a company that designed computer-security systems. Schwartz later served as an associate director at Brookhaven National Laboratory (1991–94), and in 1991 he also rejoined the faculty at Columbia, where he became professor emeritus in 2000.

      Schwartz received the Nobel Prize for research he and his Columbia colleagues Lederman and Steinberger performed at Brookhaven in 1960–62. Neutrinos almost never interact with matter, and consequently it had been extremely difficult to detect them in laboratory research. (It was estimated that from a sample of 10 billion neutrinos traveling through Earth, only one neutrino would interact with a particle of matter during the entire passage.) Acting on Schwartz's suggestion, the three researchers devised a way to increase the statistical probability of neutrino interactions by producing a beam consisting of hundreds of billions of neutrinos and sending the beam through a detector of solid matter. To achieve this, the scientists used a particle accelerator to generate a stream of high-energy protons, which were then fired at a target made of the metal beryllium. The bombardment produced a stream of different particles, including those called pions (pi mesons) that, as they traveled, decayed into muons (mu mesons) and neutrinos. The stream of particles exiting from the beryllium target then passed through a steel barrier 13.4 m (44 feet) thick that filtered out all other particles except neutrinos. This pure neutrino beam subsequently entered a large aluminum detector in which a few neutrinos interacted with the aluminum atoms. In analyzing these interactions, the three physicists discovered a new type of neutrino, which came to be known as the muon neutrino.

      Schwartz was the recipient of numerous honours, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1965). In 1975 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • SCHWARTZ, MELVIN — (1932–2006), U.S. physicist and businessman, Nobel Prize winner. Born in New York City, Schwartz studied at Columbia University, from which he received his Ph.D. in 1958. He was an associate physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory from 1956… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Schwartz , Melvin — (1932–) American physicist. See Lederman, Leon Max …   Scientists

  • Schwartz, Melvin — ► (n. 1932) Científico estadounidense. Fue premio Nobel de Física en 1988, compartido con Leon Lederman y Jack Steinberger, por su trabajo en física subatómica …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Schwartz — Schwartz, Melvin …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Melvin Schwartz — Born November 2, 1932(1932 11 02) New York City, New York Died August 28, 2006(2006 08 2 …   Wikipedia

  • Melvin Schwartz — (* 2. November 1932 in New York; † 28. August 2006 in Twin Falls, Idaho) war ein US amerikanischer Physiker. Er erhielt 1988 zusammen mit Leon Max Lederman und Jack Steinberger den Nobelpreis für Physik für ihre grundlegenden Experimente über… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Melvin Schwartz — (2 novembre 1932 à New York 28 août 2006) est un physicien américain. Il est co lauréat avec Leon Lederman et Jack Steinberger du prix Nobel de physique de 1988 pour leurs travaux sur les neutrinos[1]. Biographie Schwartz a grandi à New York… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Melvin — may refer to one of the following: Contents 1 As a surname 2 As a given name 3 Fictional characters 4 Places 5 …   Wikipedia

  • Melvin — bezeichnet Personen: Allan Melvin (1923–2008), US amerikanischer Schauspieler Chasity Melvin (* 1976), US amerikanischer Basketballspieler Eric Melvin (* 1966), US amerikanischer Punkrock Musiker Harold Melvin († 1997), US amerikanischer Sänger,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Melvin Schwartz — (Nueva York, 1932 Twin Falls 2006) fue un físico y profesor universitario estadounidense galardonado con el Premio Nobel de Física del año 1988 por sus estudios sobre los neutrinos. Biografía Nació el 2 de noviembre de 1932 en la ciudad… …   Wikipedia Español

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