Underwater neutrino detector will be second-largest structure ever built

why is it submerged,and how will neutrinos be detected by optical modules?

why is it submerged,and how will neutrinos be detected by optical modules?

The neutrinos can be detected only with reaction with high amount of matter, because they're interacting only very weakly with it. When the neutrino collides with atom nuclei, it generates fast electrons or muons, which are moving with nearly the speed of light in vacuum. These fast moving charged particles are slowed down during their travel through marine water into speed of light in water, which is substantially lower. The difference of energy is radiated in form of Cherenkov radiation, a weak blue radiation which can be detected with photodetectors. The marine water is cheap, bulky and transparent enough for these purpose.

http://hyperphysi...nkov.gif

This type of neutrino detector is actually very similar to the famous "Ice Cube" detector, which is already successfully running inside of Antarctic ice. The Antarctic ice is more transparent and shielded from artificial sources of light - but the Medditerian sea is way more accessible from apparent reasons and the undersea detector can be maintained more easily.

http://www.dailym...ace.html

World of Physics, truly is Amazing and pioneering

Nice one Zephir. Another obvious point answering the question

why is it submerged,

It be dark down there. Same as with the Ice Cube detector. If you were watching for the "spark" from the neutrino collisions with the ground it would be overwhelmed with light from other sources (the sun, moon, Venus, lights, etc.) Down in the deep there are many fewer sources to filter out and they are looking for a very specific signature of the interaction of the neutrinos.

I think they've gone mad, actually.

If they can spend this kind of money on a neutrino detector, why not spend a similar amount on fixing the world's more immediate problems, like energy, food, the economy, etc?

What's next after this project is completed like 50 years from now?

will they make 1000 more of them all over the atlantic, Indian, and pacific basins as well?

They looking for the Anunaki or something?

why the mediteranean --- its earthquake prone

QC: There are ALWAYS going to be "better" ways to spend money. This project, per the link at the bottom of the article, is slated to spend a third that of the tower in Dubai. I think your time is better spent railing against the phallic superstructure rather than attacking a research project designed to improve our understanding of the building blocks and fundamental properties of the universe we live in.

Update on my "it be dark" comment. Someone mentioned over at UT is takes several kilometers of sea water to filter out the muon activity from cosmic rays. Much more relevant than the reflection of the sun off of Venus mentioned in my lame comment.

If they can spend this kind of money on a neutrino detector, why not spend a similar amount on fixing the world's more immediate problems, like energy, food, the economy, etc?

Because physicists are separated from the rest of society and they do care only about projects and ideas, which are solving their problems - not the problems of the rest of society. The twenty years standing ignorance of cold fusion demonstrates it most clearly, but this is not the only example at all.
Every social group which lacks the public feedback converges into this approach undeniably and we should solve it, if we don't want to suffer with serious slowing of progress.

There are ALWAYS going to be "better" ways to spend money.

Your answer just illustrates, the proponents of mainstream science have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE about ways of prioritization of research. They're simply always asking all money, which they can get at given time. This is just another argument for more stringent public control.

Nice one Zephir. Another obvious point answering the question

I know. Everyone can see, the answers, which are following the existing way of knowledge are upvoted here (because they don't require thinking, so that every troll feels familiar with it) - whereas the answers, which bring something new are downvoted here (because the thinking is painfull for trolls, so they feel unsure with it).

http://www.physor...eas.html

In this way every public voting converges into censorship of new ideas and trivialization of the existing ones undeniably. So, if we really want to support the innovative thinking, we should change the way, in which the people in public forums are labelled with others.

This is just another argument for more stringent public control.

The above requirement may sound like the attempt for malicious ostracising of poor scientists - who are indeed just doing their job in their very best all the time... - but in its consequence it will bring more money into research and science instead. For example, if we would insist on preferential research of cold fusion before twenty years, we shouldn't cut many research programs by now just because of financial crisis. The physicists would have their research and the rest of people would have their cheap energy by now.

It's as simple as it is - or not?

How do they prevent the optical detectors getting gunged up with crap drifting down from the surface of the sea, or colonised by sea life, and obscured?

If they can spend this kind of money on a neutrino detector, why not spend a similar amount on fixing the world's more immediate problems

To put this in perspective:
You can build 6 of these detectors for the cost of one F35 fighter jet.

Now I want you to say 'waste' six times for each F35 to be bought. After you have said 4338 times 'waste' you may say 'waste' ONCE for this detector. Deal?

Your priorities and perceptions of reality are WAY out of kilter.

The twenty years standing ignorance of cold fusion demonstrates it most clearly, but this is not the only example at all.

Actually the NAVY has had a full cold fusion research team for 20 years now. The results have been absolutely confirmed and peer reviewed (this is using the Pd deuterium system of Ponz and Fleischman, not Rossi's Ni-H)

It is actually impossible to deny cold fusion after you watch the full talk given last year by the SPAWAR team. That said the NAVY recently shut down the research group, though all the researchers have been sent to another research facility to continue their work.

http://www.youtub...hJCcNBBc

Whether or not Rossi's e-cat does what he says remains to be seen, but no one who call themselves a scientist can deny cold fusion is real. It has been peer reviewed and repeatedly demonstrated. If you have a problem with Rossi fine, but cold fusion is definitely science. [/end off topic rant]

more on topic, the structures described here will be large, but they wont cost nearly as much as an above ground building. They're big but the're mostly cable. It'll cost far less than the LHC and that behemoth in Dubai, that's for sure.

How do they prevent the optical detectors getting gunged up with crap drifting down from the surface of the sea, or colonised by sea life, and obscured?

MerMAIDS.

I think they've gone mad, actually.

If they can spend this kind of money on a neutrino detector, why not spend a similar amount on fixing the world's more immediate problems, like energy, food, the economy, etc?

What's next after this project is completed like 50 years from now?

will they make 1000 more of them all over the atlantic, Indian, and pacific basins as well?

They looking for the Anunaki or something?

What are you doing on a science website if you hate science? How about you STFU and go watch some Fox News for your daily dose of stupidity.

What are you doing on a science website if you hate science?

Actually, the only thing which I love more than science is the application of science.

Personally, I do perceive nothing attractive on the situation, when the human civilization will end in nuclear wars for the rest of fossil fuels because of ignorance of cold fusion and another findings, whereas the Earth will be full of detectors, telescopes and particle accelerators. We will extinct smart - but for what, exactly?

It will just indicate, some group of people got too much money and power, but low responsibility.

You can build 6 of these detectors for the cost of one F35 fighter jet.

It's indeed true, but if the physicists wouldn't hinder the cold fusion research, we could save even this F35 fighter. In this sense just the physicists are co-responsible for the high price of F35 fighters, because of fossil fuel crisis.

And there are many other things, which actually do limit the usefulness of scientific research in objective way. If the civilization will extinct poor, its knowledge would be useless. The implementation of each scientific finding requires wide infrastructure of engineers and technicians. The players of strategic games like the Civilization or Age Of Empires know quire well, it has no meaning to spend all resources into research, which is advancing the current level of society evolution too much. We will forget such a results sooner, before they could be applied. In some cases, the knowledge could even become harmless for civilization, which is not prepared for its usage.

The people who ignore more substantial research on behalf of this dispensable one are illiterate, not me. I can just see the things in wider connections than these experts, who just care about their research.
http://money.cnn....ndex.htm
http://www.nypost...QJHmT5QO
Without sufficient energy source we wouldn't have both the neutrino detectors, both the usage for them (which is even worse). This is why the proponents of mainstream science are getting so upset just with the cold fusion - it illustrates clearly, how dispensable they're actually are and how deeply they're responsible for the current situation. It's no secret for me.

how is it about money and energy now? isnt this page about science? the same science that can enhance humanity as it always did?!

Rawa1 is not illiterate:

"The players of strategic games like the Civilization or Age Of Empires know quire well, it has no meaning to spend all resources into research"

Lots of things in this aether brain...