In 2006 Oxford University physics professor and accomplished popularizer of science Frank Close was invited to write an obituary of nuclear chemist and physics Nobel laureate Raymond (Ray) Davis Jr. When that obituary won the UK Science Writer's Prize for the "Best Science Writing in a Non-Scientific Context," Close decided to expand it into a popular book.

Neutrino is the story of the elusive particle conjured by Wolfgang Pauli as a "desperate remedy" to save the law of conservation of energy. Pauli was hesitant about publishing his idea; he even turned down an invitation to present it at a conference in Tübingen, Germany. Instead, in a famous open letter to the conference attendees, addressed to the "Dear Radioactive Ladies and Gentlemen," Pauli described why he proposed the neutrino. (It's likely that neither he nor they were aware that their own bodies were radioactive—due to potassium-40 decaying in their bones—and emitting...

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