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This Giant Subterranean Neutrino Detector Is Taking On the Mysteries of Physics

Located 700 meters underground near the city of Jiangmen in southern China, a giant sphere—35 meters in diameter and filled with more than 20,000 tons of liquid—has just started a mission that will last for decades. This is Juno, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory, a new, large-scale experiment studying some of the most mysterious and elusive particles known to science. Neutrinos are the most abundant particles in the universe with mass. They are fundamental particles, meaning they d

China Just Took the Hunt for Elusive ‘Ghost Particles’ to the Next Level

The elusive neutrino—a near massless particle with no charge—tests the limits of physicists’ creativity, but sometimes the answer is just to go big. And the biggest detector of them all has finally joined the search for the so-called “ghost particles.” After a decade of construction, China’s Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) officially began taking data on August 26. The giant, spherical detector lies about 2,300 feet (700 meters) underground and collects antineutrino signals fro

This Giant Sphere Just Joined the Hunt for ‘Ghost Particles’

The elusive neutrino—a near massless particle with no charge—tests the limits of physicists’ creativity, but sometimes the answer is just to go big. And the biggest detector of them all has finally joined the search for the so-called “ghost particles.” After a decade of construction, China’s Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) officially began taking data on August 26. The giant, spherical detector lies about 2,300 feet (700 meters) underground and collects antineutrino signals fro

A Super-Energetic Neutrino That Reached Earth in 2023 Has Been Confirmed to Be Real. But Where Did It Come From?

In February 2023, a cosmic particle detector housed deep in the Mediterranean Sea recorded the arrival of a neutrino with approximately 20 to 30 times more energy than any other neutrino documented previously. Labelled KM3-230213A, the particle had a calculated energy of 220 petaelectronvolts (PeV), far greater than the 10 PeV of the previously most energetic neutrino. The finding generated a lot of excitement among physicists, but raised also many questions. Neutrinos are the most abundant par

The Mysterious Origins of the Most Energetic Neutrino Ever Detected

In February 2023, a cosmic particle detector housed deep in the Mediterranean Sea recorded the arrival of a neutrino with approximately 20 to 30 times more energy than any other neutrino documented previously. Labelled KM3-230213A, the particle had a calculated energy of 220 petaelectronvolts (PeV), far greater than the 10 PeV of the previously most energetic neutrino. The finding generated a lot of excitement among physicists, but raised also many questions. Neutrinos are the most abundant par

Antarctica’s Ghost Hunters: Inside the World’s Biggest Neutrino Detector

Neutrinos are strange little things. This tiny, enigmatic particle with no charge exists in virtually every corner of the universe, but without powerfully sensitive, sophisticated instruments, physicists would have no way of knowing they exist. In fact, trillions are passing through you every second. Physicists devise all sorts of ways to coax neutrinos into the detection range. But IceCube—which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year—stands out in particular for its unique setup: 5,160 digi

Physicists Catch ‘Ghost Particles’ Bouncing Off Matter in Record-Breaking Experiment

Neutrinos are everywhere. About 100 trillion neutrinos pass through our bodies every second, but they’re so weakly interacting we never notice them. It’s this spooky feature of neutrinos that earned them the nickname “ghost particles.” Antineutrinos, their antimatter counterpart, are also everywhere. Both are notoriously difficult to detect, but physicists are getting better at circumventing their ghostly tendencies, as a recent record-setting measurement demonstrates. When a low-energy neutrin

Scientists in Antarctica Detect Deep-Earth Signals That Defy Known Physics

A balloon-borne experiment over Antarctica, designed to detect cosmic radio waves, has instead picked up bizarre signals that appear to be coming from deep within the ice. These signals challenge our current understanding of particle physics, scientists say. The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment consists of radio antennas flown on NASA balloons 19 to 24 miles (30 to 39 kilometers) over the surface of Antarctica. In recent years, the detector has recorded radio pulses that

Scientists Discover Bizarre Signals Coming From Ice in Antarctica

Some strange radio signals are broadcasting out of Antarctic ice, and the researchers who found them don't know why. Using a cosmic particle detector, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania detected peculiar signals that, according to a press release, "defy the current understanding of particle physics." The particle detector that found those strange signals — which is, charmingly, suspended from a bunch of balloons — belongs to a range of instruments known as the Antarctic Impulsive Tr