The Earth was weighed using neutrinos. Free Technical Library News

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Earth weighed with neutrinos

31.10.2018

For the first time, physicists used data on the motion of ultralight neutrino particles to determine large-scale parameters of the entire planet Earth, including mass. The scientists also managed to obtain information about the change in the density of the medium from the surface to the core.

They are born in a variety of reactions, for example, in the center of stars, nuclear reactors on Earth, and when cosmic rays interact with the planet's atmosphere. Neutrinos interact very weakly with ordinary matter, so with a high probability they can fly through the entire planet. However, some particles are still absorbed, which can be seen due to their high fluxes. This allows you to explore the interior of the planet, since the probability of absorption depends on the energy of the particle and the path traveled.

In the new work, for the first time, physicists have been able to collect enough statistics to determine the parameters of the Earth only on the basis of data on the absorption of neutrinos. The work was done on the largest IceCube neutrino detector at the South Pole in Antarctica, which captured particles passing through the Earth. Neutrinos that appeared at the North Pole had to pass the entire planet, including its core, for registration, while those that arrived at large angles crossed only the crust. This made it possible to restore the mass distribution throughout the volume.

The new method has become an independent addition to the existing methods for determining the properties of the planet by the features of the gravitational field and based on the propagation of seismic waves, the speed of which depends on the density of the medium. The results of all methods are consistent and confirm the correctness of modern ideas and the structure of the Earth.

At the moment, neutrinos have not allowed to obtain new information about the planet, but this is not excluded in the future. For example, some models of dark matter assume the accumulation of its particles in the centers of all large bodies, and discrepancies in determining the properties of the nucleus from the gravitational field and neutrino absorption may indicate the presence of dark matter in the Earth's core.

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"Business has a huge opportunity to help build a more sustainable future, through our shared care for the planet," said CEO Tim Cook. "By 2030, Apple's entire business will be carbon neutral. The planet we share cannot wait."

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