Detecting neutrinos is no easy feat. Because they rarely interact with matter, one has to cast a wide net and shield the detector from the much louder, and more interactive particles hitting the Earth at all times. Experimental physicist Francis Halzen’s solution was simple—or so he makes it sound in this clip from The Elusive Neutrino and the Nature of the Cosmos. In 1987, Halzen began developing the Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detection Array, or AMANDA, a neutrino telescope buried more than a mile deep at the South Pole. After more than 20 years of construction, AMANDA now stands as the largest neutrino detectors in the world.

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This program is part of The Big Idea Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Recorded June 2012; Posted June 2012