How to build a dark matter detector - Jenna Saffin
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More than two kilometers below the surface of northern Ontario, suspended in 345,000 liters of ultra-pure water, there’s a perfect sphere. It contains 3600 kilograms of liquid argon, cooled to -180 degrees Celsius. Scientists continuously monitor this chamber from above ground, looking for a glimmer of light in the darkness. Because down here, deep beneath the Earth’s surface and cocooned in a watery shield, that light would indicate the presence of one of the universe’s greatest mysteries: dark matter. All the matter we can see, planets, stars and galaxies, doesn’t create enough gravitational pull to explain the universe’s larger structure. It’s dark matter, which is estimated to make up 25% of the known universe. But despite its prevalence, so far we haven’t b...
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More than two kilometers below the surface of northern Ontario, suspended in 345,000 liters of ultra-pure water, there’s a perfect sphere. It contains 3600 kilograms of liquid argon, cooled to -180 degrees Celsius. Scientists continuously monitor this chamber from above ground, looking for a glimmer of light in the darkness. Because down here, deep beneath the Earth’s surface and cocooned in a watery shield, that light would indicate the presence of one of the universe’s greatest mysteries: dark matter. All the matter we can see, planets, stars and galaxies, doesn’t create enough gravitational pull to explain the universe’s larger structure. It’s dark matter, which is estimated to make up 25% of the known universe. But despite its prevalence, so far we haven’t b...
