Neutrino physics-the link between the microcosmos and the macrocosmos, a study in two parts: (1) Theoretical-a look at the tau neutrino mass and other quantum electrodynamical effects in third family lepton interactions and (2) Experimental-underwater astronomy in Hawai'i, the short prototype string of the Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detector project

The nineteen eighties has been a time in which Cosmology and Particle Physics have come together. This dissertation reflects that trend. It does so in two ways. First, in Chapters 1 through 3, there is a theoretical investigation into some aspects of generational universality. The consequences of a third lepton, namely the tauon, and an associated tau neutrino, are explored in terms of phenomenology (mass and V-A consistency) that may shed insight into questions of neutrino mass and increased symmetry at higher energies. Second, in Chapters 4 through 11, there is an experimental investigation in the form of constructing and operating the first stage of the DUMAND (Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detection) project which was a ship suspended muon and neutrino telescope called the SPS (Short Prototype String). This detector is of the water Cherenkov type and is the first time such an instrument has been successfully built and tested for use in the ocean. Chapters 6 through 10 are devoted to the detailed documentation of the parts of the SPS and its technology integration that I designed, prototyped, and debugged. In particular, a complete description is given to the command and control communications system of the string, the digital control electronics and associated software for the Optical, Calibration, and Power modules as well as the fast digitizing electronics or String Bottom Controller (SBC). This includes the development of a microcontroller language UHPS (Underwater Hawai'i Programming System). Finally, Chapter 11 is an analysis of SPS data in terms of ascertaining a purely statistically based downward traveling muon rate at a depth of 4.0 Km yielding (2.06 ± 0.68) x 10-2 Hz