BATAVIA, Ill.–Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will offer a special presentation and a guided tour on Sunday, June 8, at 1 p.m. The two-hour program will allow the public to learn about neutrinos-ghost-like particles that can traverse the entire earth without leaving a trace-and a new neutrino experiment that has been operating at Fermilab since Fall 2002. Registration for the program, which is free of charge, is required by Friday, June 6, at noon.
During the program, Paul Nienaber, scientist of the MiniBooNE neutrino experiment, will give a slide presentation, followed by a tour with visits to some of the technical areas relevant to the operation of the experiment. Several scientists will be on hand to answer questions.
Neutrinos, invisible to the naked eye, are produced by the sun and other celestial objects. To study the properties of these hard-to-detect particles, scientists at Fermilab produce intense beams of neutrinos under laboratory conditions using accelerators. The large-scale MiniBooNE detector, filled with 45 truckloads of mineral oil, captures the signals of a tiny fraction of the man-made neutrinos, helping scientists to unravel the mysterious behavior of the particles and their role in the evolution of the universe.
Participation in the program is limited. Visitors need to call 630-840-5588 or 630-840-3351 during business hours to register. The minimum age for participation is 10 years.
Fermilab is a national laboratory funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy, operated by Universities Research Association, Inc.