Is the secret of dark matter 3,000ft underground?
BRITISH scientists are closing in on the solution to one of the great riddles of modern physics: the secret of the missing mass of the Universe. From a sophisticated new laboratory 3,500ft under the cliffs of the North Yorkshire coastline, they are leading an international race to find the first trace of “dark matter”, the elusive material that makes up more than 90 per cent of the Universe, yet which cannot be seen or detected. The Boulby Underground Laboratory for Dark Matter Research, a £3.1 million suite of facilities, was opened this week by Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the Science Minister. The scientists believe that it will allow them to find the mysterious “Wimp”, the weakly interacting massive particle that is thought to hold the key to dark matter and the nature of the Universe. In particle physics, the search for the Wimp ranks second in importance only to the Higgs boson, the elusive “God particle”, still undiscovered, that is believed to explain why matter has mass. The te
