P. Buford Price
Encyclopedia
Paul Buford Price, usually known as P. Buford Price, is a professor
in the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley
and a member of the National Academy of Sciences
. His work has been wide ranging over his career, but began with the study of physics
and has included cosmic rays, astrophysics
, nuclear physics
, glaciology
, climatology
, biology
in extreme environments, and origins of life.
The technique involves the fact that ionizing particles that traverse materials such as Lexan
plastic break chemical bonds, weakening the material along the path of the particle. By placing the material in a dissolving solution such as caustic sodium hydroxide, the damage can be dissolved away ["etched"], revealing the ionization damage. The greater the damage, the faster is the etching. The technique has been used in a number of applications. On the one hand, inspection of the tracks is a valuable tool in determining properties of charged particles as e.g. cosmic rays. On the other hand, the number of such tracks in natural glasses and minerals can be used for fission track dating
of the substance.
A more practical application is the creation of nucleopore filter
s, widely used in microbiology. To create nucleopore filters, the technique is applied to a polycarbonate film and the etching is allowed to continue from both sides of a sheet of plastic until the two holes are connected, resulting in a tiny hole in the sheet. Continuous dissolving thereafter slowly and predictably widens the hole diameter until the desired diameter is obtained.
Use of the technique in an experiment carried by a high altitude balloon in 1975 resulted in the detection of one highly anomalous cosmic ray particle that traversed a stack of 32 sheets of Lexan plastic. The particle was tentatively identified as a magnetic monopole
in 1975 by Price and some colleagues. That conclusion was withdrawn in 1978 after further analysis led the Price group to conclude that the particle did not have the appropriate charge to be a monopole, though leaving open the possibility that a supermassive magnetic monopole might have caused the track. No other particle has been identified as being a reliable cause of that track.
Price was a founding member of the team that constructed the Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array
and is presently associated with the IceCube Neutrino Detector
. During his work with AMANDA, he showed that micrometre-size bacteria and archaea can live in liquid veins throughout depths of several kilometers in glacial ice.
In 1971, he received the Ernest O. Lawrence Medal with Robert Walker and Robert Fleischer for work on understanding how to capture charged particle tracts in solids. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and a member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. His work has been wide ranging over his career, but began with the study of physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and has included cosmic rays, astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
, glaciology
Glaciology
Glaciology Glaciology Glaciology (from Middle French dialect (Franco-Provençal): glace, "ice"; or Latin: glacies, "frost, ice"; and Greek: λόγος, logos, "speech" lit...
, climatology
Climatology
Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
in extreme environments, and origins of life.
Biography
In the early part of his career, he codeveloped techniques to record the motions of energetic charged particles in solids, in particular plastics.The technique involves the fact that ionizing particles that traverse materials such as Lexan
Lexan
Lexan is a registered trademark for SABIC Innovative Plastics' brand of polycarbonate resin thermoplastic. Polycarbonate polymer is produced by reacting bisphenol A with carbonyl dichloride, also known as phosgene. Lexan is the brand name for polycarbonate sheet and resin in a wide range of grades...
plastic break chemical bonds, weakening the material along the path of the particle. By placing the material in a dissolving solution such as caustic sodium hydroxide, the damage can be dissolved away ["etched"], revealing the ionization damage. The greater the damage, the faster is the etching. The technique has been used in a number of applications. On the one hand, inspection of the tracks is a valuable tool in determining properties of charged particles as e.g. cosmic rays. On the other hand, the number of such tracks in natural glasses and minerals can be used for fission track dating
Fission track dating
Fission track dating is a radiometric dating technique based on analyses of the damage trails, or tracks, left by fission fragments in certain uranium-bearing minerals and glasses...
of the substance.
A more practical application is the creation of nucleopore filter
Nucleopore filter
A nuclepore filter is a kind of filter in which holes a few micrometres in size have been created in a plastic membrane. These filters are generally created by exposing the membrane to radiation that weakens the plastic and creates specific areas that can be removed by dousing the membrane in acid...
s, widely used in microbiology. To create nucleopore filters, the technique is applied to a polycarbonate film and the etching is allowed to continue from both sides of a sheet of plastic until the two holes are connected, resulting in a tiny hole in the sheet. Continuous dissolving thereafter slowly and predictably widens the hole diameter until the desired diameter is obtained.
Use of the technique in an experiment carried by a high altitude balloon in 1975 resulted in the detection of one highly anomalous cosmic ray particle that traversed a stack of 32 sheets of Lexan plastic. The particle was tentatively identified as a magnetic monopole
Magnetic monopole
A magnetic monopole is a hypothetical particle in particle physics that is a magnet with only one magnetic pole . In more technical terms, a magnetic monopole would have a net "magnetic charge". Modern interest in the concept stems from particle theories, notably the grand unified and superstring...
in 1975 by Price and some colleagues. That conclusion was withdrawn in 1978 after further analysis led the Price group to conclude that the particle did not have the appropriate charge to be a monopole, though leaving open the possibility that a supermassive magnetic monopole might have caused the track. No other particle has been identified as being a reliable cause of that track.
Price was a founding member of the team that constructed the Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array
Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array
The Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array is a neutrino telescope located beneath the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. In 2005, after nine years of operation, AMANDA officially became part of its successor project, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.AMANDA consists of optical modules, each...
and is presently associated with the IceCube Neutrino Detector
IceCube Neutrino Detector
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a neutrino telescope constructed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica...
. During his work with AMANDA, he showed that micrometre-size bacteria and archaea can live in liquid veins throughout depths of several kilometers in glacial ice.
In 1971, he received the Ernest O. Lawrence Medal with Robert Walker and Robert Fleischer for work on understanding how to capture charged particle tracts in solids. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975.