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Indiana University Participates In Global Physics Experiment

By Nick Janzen, IPB News | Published on in Education, Science, Statewide News
The remnant from a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 160,000 light-years from the Milky Way. (NASA)
The remnant from a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 160,000 light-years from the Milky Way. (NASA)

Indiana University is collaborating with more than 160 institutions on an experiment designed to answer some of the most fundamental questions in physics.  As Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Nick Janzen reports, the project is breaking ground in South Dakota now.

Crews will dig more than a mile underground to build caverns designed to store equipment that will detect neutrinos, a type of subatomic particle.

Stuart Mufson, an Indiana University astronomy professor, says neutrinos hold the key to understanding why matter — why anything — exists at all.

“Neutrinos are giving us insight into things we just really don’t understand now,” says Mufson. “They’re giving us insight into the way matter is put together and forces work.”

Neutrinos are also emitted when massive stars die, or go supernova. Because neutrinos get a “head start” when the star explodes, scientists can use neutrino detectors to see supernovas before their light reaches earth.

“I have been waiting since 1987 to see supernova neutrinos,” Mufson says.

Indiana University is developing some of the technology for the experiment, which involves collaboration among over 160 institutions and 30 countries. Data collection is scheduled to start in 2025.