Fine Structure

Is physics short on discoveries these days? Humor aside, the European Physical Society is set to award a collaboration with two awards this month. Not entirely unusual unless you consider the fact that the discovery was 36 years ago and the importance of the discovery has never been doubted (unlike, say, QED which was proposed in the 40s but only won a Nobel in '65 after its usefulness had proven itself many times over). The discovery itself was of neutral interactions, something hotly discussed before its discovery and essentially the start of the standard model we know today.

More fascinating are the tools used for this discovery. In particular, the Gargamelle bubble chamber at CERN in which these neutral interactions were first captured. I direct your attention towards CERNs amazing librarian skills, hosting a video (in multiple formats no less) made in 1970 about the operation of Gargamelle. It's quite fascinating in that it represents a very traditional view of "the scientist" that is stereotyped, as well as the particulars of how the bubble chambers of the 70s worked. If you're looking for something written about the neutral current discovery by the Gargamelle team, check out yet another document from CERN on that discovery.