What does Antarctica have to do with neutrino research?
Why there? COH: We’re sitting on top of two miles of ice. Neutrinos are a fundamental particle of the universe — think of them like an electron with no electric charge. They’re not affected by electromagnetic force, which is why they’re so cool — they pass through pretty much everything. They’re not affected by atoms. Every second that goes by, there are on average 50 to 100 trillion neutrinos pass through a person each second. If you live to 100, there’s a chance that one neutrino could react with your body. On extremely rare occasions, a neutrino makes a direct hit on a proton or neutron and interacts. One of the quarks in the proton flips and turns it into a neutron, or vice versa. To maintain balance, a new particle is emitted, called a muon, going the same direction and speed as the original neutrino. The muon is something we can detect pretty easily. If it’s a clear material — such as ice — the muon can go through it faster than light itself. It bleeds off some of its energy in t
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