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Still under construction and yet already officiating a quasi-galactic record: Researchers have detected a chaotic neutrino using an incomplete test facility
They are tiny—even for elementary particles, extremely lightweight—and their numbers soar into the billions in the blink of an eye. Luckily, they almost always ignore any form of matter: neutrinos.
However, when they do interact with something, they can set off fireworks of a kind rarely seen in nature. Scientists have now unexpectedly spotted a neutrino that has shattered all previous records of its kind.
We’ll explain what neutrinos are, where they come from, and the immense amount of energy they can carry.
A Stream of Particles as Powerful as Eight Nuclear Reactors
At present, detectors for neutrinos called ARCA and ORCA are being built in the Mediterranean Sea: one at a depth of around 3.5 kilometers off the coast of Sicily, and another 2.5 kilometers deep off the coast of Toulon, France. The surrounding water essentially acts as an observed trap for these particles because between the sea surface and the sensor, an enormous number of molecules are waiting to randomly collide with a neutrino.
What is a neutrino? Imagine it as an extremely light particle that is formed as a byproduct of various events in the universe. Our Sun alone emits 60 to 70 billion neutrinos per second—per square centimeter.
A fingernail-sized area is traversed by that many neutrinos every second. Another 30 to 40 billion per second come from the rest of the universe. Its main characteristic is its neutrality; it is uncharged, which is why it can pass virtually unhindered even through planets—or entire stars. Its name is derived from Italian and means “little neutral particle.” Sometimes, though, one of these particles does collide.
In early 2023, even with only a small portion of its sensors in place, ARCA registered a true energy monster. Its impact generated a reading of at least 60 peta-electronvolts (PeV), potentially even 230 PeV. The previous record-holder had been a neutrino at 10 PeV (via Nature). To put this energy into perspective, consider the following scenario:
- Assume each of the 100 billion neutrinos hitting the front of your body in the next second carries 230 PeV and releases it instantly.
- In that case, you would be bathing in as much energy as eight 1-gigawatt nuclear reactors produce in that single second.
Of course, this assumption is purely theoretical. Nevertheless, it illustrates just how much energy a beam of such extreme neutrinos could unleash if it interacted with normal matter in the way photons do in, for example, a laser.
A Side Note on Sustainable Energy
Meanwhile, a wind turbine in China showcases what sustainable electricity generation in the 21st century can look like. With a capacity of 20 megawatts, it is a new record-holder. Below is a short video about a skyscraper that serves as an energy storage facility; you can find more on that in the article Energiewende: 1,000-Meter-High Skyscrapers Are Supposed to Help.
Unknown Origin
We do not know precisely where this neutrino originated. It likely came from beyond our galaxy. After millions of years traveling through space, it finally collided with an arbitrary atomic nucleus in the Mediterranean Sea, here on Earth.
Generally, only the most energetic events in the universe come into question, such as gamma-ray bursts, supernova explosions, or interactions between massive objects and a black hole. The Andromeda Galaxy also harbors sources of such extreme energy releases—there’s plenty of current reading available about our neighboring galaxy:
- There’s new information regarding its potential collision with the Milky Way.
- In addition, the Hubble Space Telescope spent over a decade capturing a more-than-impressive mosaic of Andromeda.
The Project Is Still in Its Early Stages
ARCA and ORCA are still being brought to their final form. At the time of the discovery, only ten percent of the detectors were even active.
Other examples of such installations are thousands of kilometers away at the South Pole in Antarctica, where ice fulfills the role taken on by the warmer, liquid water north of Africa.
Once all three are fully operational and working in parallel to detect neutrinos, neutrino research will receive a tremendous boost. Among other things, scientists hope for more precise insights into the origin of these mysterious high-energy particles.