The ability to make people laugh isn't a prerequisite to becoming a particle physicist or a member of the US Congress. But it can help.
Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, a Fermilab-particle-physicist-turned-Congressman, showed off his stand-up comedy chops when he began his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for the NOvA neutrino experiment with his own take on President Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg address.
"Forty score and seven kilometers south, our accelerators brought forth on this continent a neutrino beam, conceived of protons and dedicated to testing the proposition that all neutrinos are created equal," Foster said.
He didn't stop there. He ran through the entirety of the famously pithy speech, adapting each line to relate to the NOvA experiment.
The NuMI Off-axis νe Appearance experiment, NOvA, will search for evidence that neutrinos are capable of switching from one type to another, specifically from muon neutrinos into electron neutrinos. The experiment examines a neutrino beam that originates at Fermilab and speeds 500 miles straight through the earth to Minnesota in just a fraction of a second.
Neutrinos are neutral particles that switch among three flavors: electron, muon, and tau. Scientists have observed electron neutrinos from the sun changing to muon and tau neutrinos. They have seen muon neutrinos produced by cosmic rays oscillate to tau neutrinos. With the NOvA experiment, scientists will use a 222-metric-ton detector at Fermilab and a 15-metric-kiloton detector in Minnesota to search for a third type of neutrino oscillation: muon-to-electron.
This oscillation may help explain the abundance of matter over antimatter in the universe.
Foster's speech recognizes that forces are at work that mankind has yet to understand.
"But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot oscillate, we cannot hallow this site," he said. "Those brave neutrinos, living and dead, who struggled here, have mixed and oscillated far above our poor power to add or detract."
He said the Lincoln-inspired segment of his speech was a last-minute addition.
"I was just riding in the airplane with Congressman (James) Oberstar, and it popped into my mind," Foster said at the groundbreaking before launching into his real speech. "I couldn't resist."
Watch both parts of Foster's speech here:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI0mtyYGQTI&feature=channel_page
On May 1, the two US congressmen and other top ranking officials from the US Department of Energy, University of Minnesota, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory broke ground in Ash River, Minn., for the new NOvA detector facility, the future home of the world’s most advanced neutrino experiment.
Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included Minnesota 8th District Congressman James Oberstar, Illinois 14th District Congressman Bill Foster, US Department of Energy Associate Director of Science for High Energy Physics Dennis Kovar, University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks, University Vice President Tim Mulcahy, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Director Pier Oddone, and NOvA Collaboration co-spokesperson Gary Feldman.
The invitation-only groundbreaking event was followed by a public reception and presentation at the American Legion in Orr, Minn., where members of the community heard the latest updates regarding the NOvA laboratory.
The event took place just about as north as one can travel in Minnesota without tripping into Canada. It brought locals into contact with particle physicists and government officials, and brought particle physicists and government officials in contact with the muddy road to the Intensity Frontier.
Watch a slideshow of photographs from the event here.
