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image from http://dsd.lbl.gov/ImgLib/COLLECTIONS/BERKELEY-LAB/PARTICLE-DETECTION/SUDBURY-NEUTRINO-OBSERVATORY/index/96703210.html
James McDonald
University of Hartford
How does the Sun shine? That straightforward question has led to some very exciting and revolutionary discoveries in physics. I will discuss some of the roots of solar physics in the nineteenth century when scientists like Charles Darwin and Lord Kelvin tried to reconcile conflicting predictions from biology, chemistry and physics. Then I will trace the great advances of the twentieth century, including the discoveries of solar fusion and the neutrino, and the development of the standard solar model. I will also discuss the pioneering work of John Bahcall and Ray Davis, Jr. (Nobel Prize in Physics 2002) and the solution of the solar neutrino problem and how University of Hartford faculty and students have contributed to our understanding of solar fusion.
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