In search of the 'ghost particle'.

From the bottom of a lake

One is inside mountains, the solid ice of Antarctica hides another in its bosom and the latest addition finds its home in the depths of Lake Baikal in Russia. These are some of the bizarre locations where scientists have placed telescopes in their search for neutrinos. An international team of scientists lowered the underwater telescope into the lake last week to trace the elusive neutrino, also known as the ghost particle. Let's see as to how they will do it.

Why Baikal Lake?

It is the deepest and oldest lake in the world, with its geological age estimated to be about 25 million years. Baikal is the only lake where you can deploy a neutrino telescope because of its depth, the experts said.

1,637 M

Max depth, with average depth at 758 metres, as per WWF.

20%

Of world's fresh surface water is held by Lake Baikal.

31,494 Square Km

Surface area. It is the largest lake in the world by volume.

2,500

Species of plants and animals are found on the lake. Two-thirds of the species cannot be found elsewhere.

Why build an observatory?

To unravel the mysteries of the cosmos, provide insights into the nature of dark matter, evolution of stars and origin of cosmic rays.

To test the results of recent experiments carried out by CERN, the world's biggest physics laboratory which suggested neutrinos are faster than light.

Neutrino

A subatomic particle very similar to an electron but with no electrical charge and a very small mass. They are one of the most abundant particles in the universe.

Dark matter

Roughly 80% of the mass of the universe is made up of material that scientists cannot directly observe. Known as dark matter, this bizarre ingredient does not emit light or energy.

Cosmic neutrino

Neutrinos produced in any part of the universe other than Earth.

Atmospheric neutrino

Those produced in Earth and escaping the atmosphere unhindered.

Muon

Charged particle produced when a neutrino collides with matter.

Why is the ghost particle elusive?

  * Neutrinos interact extremely weakly with matter, so they rarely collide with atoms and are difficult to observe.

  * When neutrinos collide with matter, they produce a flash of detectable light when passing through something transparent, like ice or water. This is why observatories are preferred underwater or beneath the ice.

  * Atmospheric neutrino travels through the planet unhindered, hence it is difficult to distinguish it from cosmic neutrinos. But muons - produced when cosmic neutrino collides with matter in the earth's atmosphere - can travel only a few kilometres.

  * By building neutrino arrays like Baikal GVD(Gigaton Volume Detector) deep underwater, astronomers hope to detect muons that are actually produced by cosmic neutrinos alone.

  * Detectors have only been able to conclusively find neutrinos from the Sun and from one supernova, 1987A, so far.

Baikal-GVD

* Work started in 2015

* Currently at depth 750-1,300 metres, about 4 km from the lake Baikal's shore

* Built by Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Russia and Slovakia.

India's own observatory

The India-based Neutrino Observatory Project is a multi-institutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory with a rock cover of approximately 1,200 m for non-accelerator based high energy and nuclear physics research in India. The project is jointly funded by Dept of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Dept of Science and Technology (DST). It's proposed to be set up at Pottipuram in Bodi West Hills of Theni district in Tamilnadu.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle late than usual. Wished Indira kunjamma many happy returns. Two rounds of washing machinex resorted to; first for the bed linen and the second for the soiled clothes of the last two days as Suma was gonna be absent today too. Went through the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Pushpaakaran had come by for the spring cleaning of the house. 

Selvam, the pressman, had also come by today while the PCI rep was asked to come over next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Bibin had completed the false ceiling work at Raj Nivas after a gap of three days, on receiving the advance amount of 10 grand from me.