heavy-water-detector

The chapter introduces Louise Benoît, a postdoctoral researcher at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, who detects an unusual neutrino event that escalates into the discovery of a man trapped inside the heavy-water detector chamber. The acrylic sphere containing the heavy water is ruptured, flooding the chamber and forcing Louise and a graduate student, Paul Kiriyama, to attempt a risky rescue. The chapter blends detailed scientific description of neutrino detection with a sudden, mysterious human intrusion into a highly controlled scientific environment.