WASHINGTON D.C., October 6, 2015 -- The American Institute of Physics (AIP) congratulates Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald, who share the 2015 Nobel Prize in physics for "the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass."

Neutrinos are something of an enigma wrapped in a subatomic particle. Produced in places like the sun, distant stars and supernovae, they are tiny, invisible and stubbornly hard to detect, mostly passing through the earth. And yet they are the second most abundant particle in the universe.

“This year’s prize highlights a seriously important step in our understanding of the fundamental particles of the universe, and one that has improved our understanding of both particle physics and cosmology," said Robert G.W. Brown, CEO of the American Institute of Physics.

“You can chalk up yet another success for quantum mechanics because without it we would not be able to make sense of the experimental results that have led to this prize," he added. "Once again quantum mechanics and wave interference provided an explanation for oscillatory behavior — this time with mass and previously with photons."

Brown is able for comment on the importance of this discovery to science or society. To reach Dr. Brown, you can email him directly at [email protected] or contact PIO Jason Bardi at +1-240-535-4954 or [email protected].

To help journalists and the public understand the context of this work, AIP is compiling Physics Nobel Prize Resources featuring relevant scientific papers and articles, quotes from experts, photos, multimedia, and other resources. Relevant papers published by the AIP will be made freely available.

The page will be updated throughout the day and can be accessed at https://www.aip.org/science-news/nobel.

ABOUT AIP

The American Institute of Physics is an organization of 10 physical science societies, representing more than 120,000 scientists, engineers and educators. AIP delivers valuable services and expertise in education and student programs, science communications, government relations, career services for science and engineering professionals, statistical research in physics employment and education, industrial outreach and the history of physics and allied fields. AIP is home to Society of Physics Students and the Niels Bohr Library and Archives, and it owns AIP Publishing LLC, a scholarly publisher in the physical and related sciences. More information: http://www.aip.org

ABOUT AIP PUBLISHING

AIP Publishing is a wholly owned not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP). AIP Publishing’s mission is to support the charitable, scientific and educational purposes of AIP through scholarly publishing activities in the fields of the physical and related sciences on its own behalf, on behalf of Member Societies of AIP, and on behalf of other publishing partners to help them proactively advance their missions. AIP Publishing’s portfolio comprises 19 highly regarded, peer-reviewed journals, including the flagship journals Applied Physics Letters, Journal of Applied Physics, and The Journal of Chemical Physics, in addition to the AIP Conference Proceedings.

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