The neutrino is known for how rarely it interacts with matter. But when it does, the interaction can take place numerous ways, and some interaction types happen more often than others. The ArgoNeuT experiment recently looked at one of the more rare cases — one that comes to only about 1 percent of all the possible ways a neutrino can interact. As one might expect, its infrequency poses a great challenge in our efforts to measure it. This month, the…
Scientists on Fermilab’s Liquid-Argon Purity Demonstrator recently showed that liquid argon can achieve a high purity without first having to evacuate the tank of contaminants. Argon, a noble gas, comprises 1 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, making it its third most common gas. When very pure, argon can also aid scientists in detecting neutrinos. Fermilab’s Liquid-Argon Purity Demonstrator, or LAPD, a 30-ton-capacity tank of liquid argon connected to a purifying filter system, contains what scientists call a time projection chamber….