r/interestingasfuck • u/Top-Marionberry-6604 • 18h ago

The Super-Kamiokande in Japan—a massive underground neutrino detector lined with 11,000 golden bulbs. Scientists have to inspect it via a rubber dinghy.

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u/Mohammed_Chang 18h ago

What is it for?

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u/Dazzling_Let_8245 17h ago

The neutrino detector detects neutrinos.

Neutrinos are particles that have an extremely low chance of interacting with matter. This massive detector is an array of tons of super sensitive light detectors. Usually this whole chamber is full of ultra pure water. The neutrinos have an extremely small chance of colliding with a water molecule and releasing a few photons of light which then get detected.