Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

India digs deep to bury neutrino-hunting chamber

3.5 Mars missions' worth of subterranean matter detector coming to Pottipuram

India is joining the world of exotic particle research, announcing US$235 million worth of funding for a neutrino observatory in the country's south.

Approval for the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), proposed in 2013, means construction of the underground complex can now begin.

The 1,300 metre deep cavern under the village of Pottipuram will be home to a 50,000 tonne iron calorimeter (ICAL) acting as the detector. The ICAL is to be made of 30,000 resistive plate chambers separated by iron plates.

Physics World reports that the INO will look for evidence of the neutrino mass hierarchy, trying to work out which of the three known neutrino mass states is the heaviest and which is the lightest.

Project director Naba Mondal said an understanding of the mass hierarchy will provide insights into questions like the matter-antimatter asymmetry that allows the universe we live in to exist.

Other experiments planned for the INO include searching for dark matter, and looking for evidence of a process called neutrinoless double-beta decay. If it exists, this decay mode allows two neutrons to decay into two protons and two electrons – but it's never been observed.

As well as the INO experiment – the largest cavern will be 130 metres long, 26 metres wide and 30 metres high, with two smaller caverns for the secondary experiments – India will set up an Inter-Institutional Institute for High-Energy Physics 110 km away in Madurai.

INO director Naba Mondal says India will seek international participation in the project, and noted that the country hasn't conducted research like this since 1992, when the Kolar Gold Field project ended.

India spent about US$73m on its Mars Orbiter Mission, justifying it partly as a demonstration of the capabilities it can offer global industry. This project's rather larger price tag may be another such demonstration. ®

Similar topics

Similar topics

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like