Thursday, August 27, 2015

Physicists isolate neutrinos from Earth's mantle for first time



Heat energy flows from Earth's interior and out through Earth's surface at a rate of 47 terawatts. How much of that heat is generated by the decay of radioactive elements and how much is left over from Earth's formation remains unknown. This new detection of antineutrinos from Earth's mantle (as opposed to Earth's crust) could eventually lead to an answer to the heat budget problem.
 
Image:
Physicists installing the Borexino detector. Some of the detector's many photomultiplier tubes are visible in the cupola above the workers. These detect the flashes of light created when antineutrinos collide with the detector. (Courtesy: INFN)


Article:
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2015/aug/14/physicists-isolate-neutrinos-from-earths-mantle-for-first-time
 

No comments:

Post a Comment