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Ingredients for a neutrino beam: speedy protons, target, magnetic horn, decay pipe, absorbers. Image adapted from Fermilab Fermilab is in the middle of expanding its neutrino program and is developing new detectors to study these ghostly particles. With its exquisite particle accelerator complex, Fermilab is capable of creating very intense beams of neutrinos. Our neutrino recipe starts with a tank of hydrogen. The hydrogen atoms are fed an extra electron to make them negatively charged, allowing them to be accelerated….

We don’t know much about neutrinos, but what we do know points to renegade particles that, despite their prevalence, are hard to pin down. Here are, in a nutshell, nine neutrino nuggets that scientists have figured out so far. 1.Neutrinos are super abundant. The shining sun sends 65 billion neutrinos per second per square centimeter to Earth. Neutrinos are the second most abundant particle in the universe. If we were to take a snapshot, we’d see that every cubic centimeter…

Like neon, argon is used to make colorful lighted signs. Particle physicists are now putting argon to a far more exciting use: detecting neutrinos. Image: Pslawinski Fermilab’s flagship effort is its neutrino program, which is ramping up to be the strongest in the world. This means creating the world’s best neutrino detectors. To that end, scientists at Fermilab are pursuing one hot technology that is lighting up neutrino physics, detection based on cryogenic liquid argon. At first, argon seems to…