The giant science experiment hunting for the 'ghost particle', neutrinos | ABC News

Step inside Super Kamiokande. The tank deep underneath a Japanese mountain is helping to capture clues to the origins of life.

Neutrinos are tiny, ghost-like particles. They come from different sources, like our sun and nuclear reactors. They also come from supernovae. Supernovae contain the building blocks of life, so by studying neutrinos, we can explore our own origins.

But we don’t actually know what neutrinos look like — they’re smaller than an atom, and they travel at the speed of light. So spotting them is virtually impossible.

That’s where Super Kamiokande comes in. This $140 million science experiment is a massive water tank. Lining the tank walls are gold-hued detectors called photomultiplier tubes. They’re super sensitive – if they were on the moon, they would be able to see a match being lit from Earth. They work as lightbulbs in reverse, and they’re the key to spotting a neutrino. When a neutrino collides with a water molecule, it creates a miniscule flash, setting off the detectors.

But the PMTs aren’t sensitive enough – the tank is getting a major upgrade so the detectors will be able to look 35,000 times further into space. The water in the tank is also getting a change – scientists are adding the element gadolinium to the water.

[FinnishPanther]

5:19 - "Don't open that! It's really pure!" 😂😂😂

[supreetsahu]

1:06 Hate it when a star explodes into a galaxy

[cakti]

Imagine waking up in there one day with no one there, that would be terrifying.

[sync]

"Photomultipliers are light bulbs in reverse." XD ... lol ... "best" explanation ever.

[nerdbane]

0:45 Neutrinos don't travel at the speed of light since they have a small amount of mass.

[Easyflux]

"Down for maintainance". Been feeling all right the time after filming there?

[andyginterblues]

Isn't a neutrino a baby Nutria? Those big rat- like swamp critters from South America? They are cuddly, shouldn't be too hard to find one. I should get some sleep, it's 3:00 A.M.

[Eloss]

Is it not bolometers in SKamiokande ? (The captors would rather be detecting the temperature increase)

[antonk]

1:7 is anyone else ocd about how the spiral galaxy is going the wrong way ?

[atigbagchi]

So how does the corrosive water do nothing to those reverse light bulbs?

[CarlTheTacticalHoser]

"dont open that its really pure" bruh....🤣🤣🤣🤣

[chelsea]

How often does this telescope detect neutrinos? I can't seem to find that info anywhere

[dhruvshandilya]

I want to be this mature to pronounce his name without laughing 1:11

[rajanprajapati]

Soon professor and his team will be there for next season of money heist

[tonydavis]

It's amazing how scientists are able to literally paint a picture detailing all the unbelievable facts, and the absolute chaos of the imagined particle's birth, from the past before time was even time, so people will believe that a hypothetical particle exist that has never actually been seen, detected, or measured?

It's like in so Surreal.

[kramygarci]

What movie did I see something similar to this in

[AB-jkff]

This is so cool! I had no idea this kind of experiment existed.

[mkien]

He should have said: "Say my name!"

[thetruthexperiment]

We don’t know what any subatomic particles look like.

[transcension.systems]

Multiple simul confirmed for phase 3? Or pseudomulti monowhitepill?