Imagine a giant underground lab in the Chinese mainland…
On Tuesday, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) achieved a dream that scientists have chased for over a decade: filling its huge 20,000-tonne liquid scintillator detector and kicking off its first data run! 🚀🔬
JUNO isn’t just another particle physics experiment – it’s the first of a new generation of mega-detectors designed to catch neutrinos, the “ghost particles” zipping through us by the trillions every second without a trace. Early tests show JUNO’s performance smashed its design goals, giving researchers high hopes for cracking one of the biggest mysteries: the order of neutrino masses.🔮
“Completing the filling of the JUNO detector and starting data taking marks a historic milestone,” says Professor Wang Yifang, a spokesperson for JUNO and a lead researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “For the first time, we have in operation a detector of this scale and precision dedicated to neutrinos. JUNO will allow us to answer fundamental questions about the nature of matter and the universe.”
So why does neutrino mass ordering matter? 🤔 Physicists want to know if the third neutrino mass state (ν₃) is heavier than the second (ν₂) – a key clue that can shape our entire understanding of particle physics and even the evolution of the cosmos. With JUNO online, we’re one step closer to leveling up our knowledge of the universe. Stay tuned – the data’s coming in! 🌌✨
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
