Get ready, science enthusiasts! China's Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is entering its final construction phase! 🎉 According to the Institute of High Energy Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this colossal project is almost complete.
The innermost acrylic sphere—the world's largest—has been fully assembled. 🙌 The outer stainless-steel grid and the installation of 45,000 photomultiplier tubes are also wrapping up, with all tasks expected to be finished by the end of November.
So, what's the big deal? JUNO's main mission is to uncover the mysteries of neutrino mass hierarchy and dive into other cutting-edge research. Once up and running, it will be one of the world's key centers for neutrino studies, putting China at the forefront of this exciting field!
Located about 700 meters underground, JUNO's core detector holds a whopping 20,000 tonnes of liquid scintillator to catch those elusive neutrinos. Talk about deep science! 🕳️✨ The massive acrylic sphere needs to withstand a buoyant force of around 3,000 tonnes over long-term operation. That's some serious engineering! 💪
The team has smashed through technical challenges, developing photomultiplier tubes with the highest photon detection efficiency globally. They've also created a super pure and efficient purification system for the liquid scintillator, achieving the world's longest attenuation length to date. Impressive, right? 🤯
With JUNO joining the ranks of Japan's Super-Kamiokande and the United States' Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, the future of neutrino research is brighter than ever! 🌟 Stay tuned for groundbreaking discoveries coming your way!
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
