Latest news with #DUNE
India.com
03-06-2025
- Science
- India.com
What is over 1400 scientists from 35 nations searching in three tunnels 1.5 km below earth? Answer will leave you shocked
What is over 1400 scientists from 35 nations searching in three tunnels 1.5 km below earth? Answer will leave you shocked How was the universe formed and how did the stars, planets, and even we began to exist? To find answers to these big questions, two teams of scientists one in the US and the other in Japan are racing to uncover the secrets of the universe. According to a report by BBC, both teams are using a tiny particle called a neutrino to help them solve the mystery of how everything started. Right now, the Japanese team is a few years ahead, but the American scientists are catching up fast. Why does our universe exist at all? Deep inside a laboratory located above the misty forests of South Dakota, American scientists are trying to solve one of science's biggest puzzles i.e. why does the universe even exist? Meanwhile, their Japanese counterparts are also working toward the same goal and are currently leading the race. Despite all our technological advancements, we still don't fully understand how the universe came into being or why galaxies, stars, and planets and even life itself exist. To get closer to an answer, both the American and Japanese teams are building advanced detectors designed to study neutrinos, a strange and tiny subatomic particle that might hold the key to how everything started. America's DUNE Project In South Dakota, at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), scientists have built three huge tunnels about 1,500 meters below the ground. These tunnels are so important for research that people call them a 'cathedral of science.' Here, a massive experiment called the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is taking place. More than 1,400 scientists from 35 countries are working together on this project. Dr. Jaret Heise, the director of the project, says that they're building a special detector that could completely change how we understand the universe. As part of the experiment, scientists will send powerful beams of neutrinos and antineutrinos from Illinois to South Dakota, about 800 miles away. They want to observe whether these tiny particles behave differently during their journey. If neutrinos and antineutrinos change in different ways, it might help explain one of the biggest mysteries in science: Why did matter win over antimatter after the Big Bang? Understanding this could explain why the universe—and life as we know it—exists at all. Japan's Hyper-K Project In Japan, scientists are building a new neutrino detector called Hyper-K, which is an upgraded version of their current detector, Super-K. This new setup looks like a glowing golden structure and is often described as a 'temple of science.' The Japanese team is nearly ready to launch their neutrino beam in less than three years, putting them several years ahead of the U.S.-based DUNE project. Dr. Mark Scott from Imperial College London says that because the Hyper-K detector is larger, it can collect data faster and with better accuracy. Who will win the race? Dr. Linda Cremonesi from Queen Mary University, who works on the DUNE project, believes that Japan's Hyper-K still lacks some of the technology needed to clearly detect the differences in behavior between neutrinos and antineutrinos. While both projects aim to uncover similar mysteries, having them run side by side will actually provide more detailed information. But Dr. Scott admits, 'I'd rather be the one to get the results first!' The final answers might still take a few years, but until then, the question of why and how we exist remains one of the universe's biggest puzzles. This scientific race is a major leap toward unlocking the secrets of our cosmos.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Why does the universe exist? Here's how the US and Japan are working to solve the cosmic mystery
Image source: In the remote forests of South Dakota, a state-of-the-art laboratory is where scientists are examining one of the deepest puzzles of physics: the reason behind the existence of the universe. Along with them, a rival team in Japan which is currently years ahead is also pursuing the same question, setting the stage for a global scientific race. The prevailing models of the Universe's origin are trying to examine why matter, from galaxies to planets, exists in such abundance. To explore this mystery , both teams are constructing sophisticated detectors designed to study neutrinos that are elusive subatomic particles that may hold critical clues. US launches Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment The American-led group believes that the key to this understanding may lie beneath the Earth 's surface, where they're developing the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) that is a massive international effort to unlock the secrets of our cosmic origins. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 수천시간을 투자해서 만든 이미지영어 40분 특강 스티븐영어 지금 시작하기 Undo To reach the heart of their experiment, scientists will descend 1,500 meters beneath the Earth's surface into three enormous underground chambers. The scale of the excavation is so immense that construction crews and their machinery appear dwarfed, like miniature models in a vast diorama. Now, the facility is entering a critical phase as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is ready to begin building its detectors which is an international collaboration involving over 1,400 scientists from 35 countries, united by one goal that is to understand the reason behind the existence of universe in its current form. According to prevailing theories, the birth of the Universe produced equal quantities of matter and antimatter which are mirror versions of each other. In theory, these should have destroyed one another, leaving behind nothing but pure energy. And yet, matter remains—forming the stars, planets, and life itself. The mystery of that imbalance is what Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment aims to resolve. To uncover why matter succeeded over antimatter and why we exist at all, scientists are turning their focus to one of the Universe's most elusive particles: the neutrino, and its antimatter counterpart, the antineutrino. The experiment involves firing high-energy beams of these particles from a site in Illinois, sending them on an 800-mile journey underground to sophisticated detectors in South Dakota. As they travel, neutrinos and antineutrinos subtly shift their identities in a process known as oscillation. Researchers aim to determine whether the behavior of neutrinos differs from that of antineutrinos. If such a difference exists, it may offer the long-sought explanation for why the early Universe didn't self-eradicate in a burst of energy and why matter and ultimately life survived. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) brings together a global team of over 1,400 scientists from 30 nations. Among them is Dr. Kate Shaw of the University of Sussex describes the project's potential as "transformative" for both physics and our broader understanding of humanity's place in the cosmos. Japan launches Hyper-Kamiokande On the other side of the globe, a team of Japanese scientists is also on the hunt for answers to one of physics' deepest mysteries. Inside a vast facility enhanced with glowing golden spheres, they are constructing Hyper-Kamiokande - a next generation neutrino detector set to surpass its predecessor named Super-Kamiokande in both scale and sensitivity. The vast chamber, with its reflective surfaces and golden glow, resembles a shrine to scientific discovery mirroring the grandeur of the underground halls at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in South Dakota which is located at some 6,000 miles away. Hyper-K is part of a major international collaboration, and its neutrino beam is expected to go online in under three years and well ahead of the U.S.-based project. Although experts have different views on it as some think that having both experiments operational will ultimately benefit the scientific community providing complementary data and stronger results. While the race is underway, the first results from both experiments won't be available for several years. For now, the question of what triggered the beginning of time and ultimately led to our existence is what makes people curious to know about the facts behind this mystery. Also read: James Webb Space Telescope identified Milky Way's cosmic twin from the universe's first billion years
Associated Press
18-03-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
America's Underground Lab overhauls its WWII era wooden mine shaft
Lead, SD, March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in the Black Hills of South Dakota is America's Underground Lab – with cutting-edge experiments in biology, geothermal energy, engineering, and physics. Experiments at SURF include the world's leading dark matter detector, LUX ZEPLIN, and the on-going construction of the massive Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). The facility's high-tech science experiments are kept inside a massive historic structure of 370 miles of tunnels and shafts that was once North America's deepest gold mine. The Yates Shaft is one of two mineshafts used to access the underground laboratory space. The Yates is a World War II era shaft that reaches nearly a mile to the main laboratory site 4850 feet below the surface. The Yates Shaft is lined all the way down with a complex lacing of timber framed wood beams. Over the last three years, an intrepid crew of technicians replaced the large timbers and added or replaced rock bolts and steel mesh along the shaft walls from the top to the bottom of the shaft. The crews essentially built a wooden timber framed structure a mile deep—with all the added complications of working underground inside a mine shaft. 'I don't think there's any word that could describe the pride in the four crews that we have working on this project,' said Wendy Straub, Chief Operating Officer at SURF. 'This is something that doesn't come with a set of instructions. It was really engineering on the fly. I think today they are stronger and better for everything that they've achieved. Blood, sweat and tears, we've seen it all, and it's been worth it.' Straub gives extra praise to four crews, a total of 16 technicians, alongside two logistics coordinators, three superintendents, and eight hoist operators, who completed the work to the highest standards while prioritizing safety. 'The hardest part was definitely at the beginning; we had to figure out how to approach this whole thing,' said Will Hover, infrastructure technician at SURF. 'There aren't a lot of people even left alive that have worked timber inside a mine shaft like this. We had to learn for ourselves how to rebuild it from the top down.' One of the big challenges crews encountered were areas of instability of the rock wall behind the timber framed shaft. In some locations, large boulders broke off the shaft wall and pressed against the timbers. 'We would go in and use the jackleg, which is like a jackhammer, or handheld hammers and break down those boulders to manageable sizes. Then we would use winches and pulls to move those boulders into the skip conveyance and get them moved out of the way,' said Russ Bauer who leads one of the four-person shaft crews that worked both day and night shifts on the maintenance project for the past two years. 'The boulders were among the bigger challenges we encountered, and it's definitely great to have three other heads on the crew to help figure out obstacles like this,' Bauer said. The long-list of daily protective equipment Bauer and his crew wear each day includes safety harnesses, carabiners, and slings that keep them from falling 5,000 feet to the 300-foot pool of water at the bottom of the pitch-dark shaft. 'We're extremely safety focused, always looking out for each other,' Hover said. 'It's a pretty hazardous area down there, and we're constantly working to identify and mitigate danger.' Safety is first among SURF's cores values, and the facility maintains an excellent overall safety record. The safety of those who use the shaft for the daily commute underground is one of the reasons this top-down maintenance was completed. 'There was a stop work issued in July of 2021. I was fortunate enough to have people above me, including the management team at SURF, to back the decision to go in and do full, heavy top-down maintenance to make sure that the shaft is safe to operate going forward,' Straub said. The Yates Shaft was first constructed during the lead-up to WW II, when the country's need for steel necessitated the use of timbers to support the walls of the structure, rather than steel. After more than 70 years of use in both the former gold mine and the more recent underground laboratory, the timbers needed replacement. Shaft workers marvel at the work of the miners who completed the timber lined shaft by hand so many years ago. Bauer and Hover are among many current employees at SURF who have deep family connections at the facility. 'My grandpa was a hoist operator. My dad was a hoist operator who just retired, and I got a couple uncles that are still hoist operators up here. I'm incredibly proud of my family history on this site,' Bauer said. 'My grandfather was a miner, my dad was a motorman for the mine, and then he was the head of the emergency response team here at SURF until he retired a couple years ago. Getting to see and experience this whole facility, where two generations of my family have dug into the Black Hills, is awesome,' Hover added. 'The incredible work of this team, who spent the past three and a half years refurbishing the timber in this shaft, is a testament to their own perseverance and grit, and an extension of the long history and deep skillsets that made America's Underground Lab possible. I'm so proud of our Yates team in reaching this milestone with strong safety performance,' said Mike Headley, executive director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority and laboratory director at SURF. Headley points out that SURF is home to experiments with lifespans that could carry research here well into the 21st century, so it's possible, Hover, Bauer, and others at SURF could see their own children take up this work where they leave off—continuing this legacy—with a new purpose. 'I grew up in the mining community and been around mining all my life. So, when someone asks what I do inside this shaft all day, I pretty much just tell them, we're mining for science,'' Hover said. The expertise these crews have built in refurbishing this shaft for science will remain valuable in coming years. SURF is planning to reline the Yates Shaft with steel, in a similar overhaul completed on the Ross Shaft in the ramp up to the DUNE project. Regardless of the composition of the shafts, the maintenance required to keep them safe and operational will keep crews of workers gainfully employed at SURF for decades to come.
