Clyde Cowan

Clyde Cowan was an American physicist who played a crucial role in the discovery of neutrinos, elusive particles that are fundamental to understanding the universe. In the 1950s, Cowan and his collaborator, Frederick Reines, developed an experiment to detect neutrinos emitted from a nuclear reactor. Their groundbreaking work confirmed the existence of neutrinos, which had been theorized but never observed. This discovery advanced particle physics and contributed to our understanding of fundamental forces in nature. Cowan's efforts earned him and Reines the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995, highlighting the significance of neutrinos in modern science.