A Chinese Laboratory Aims to Study Neutrinos
2024-10-21
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1China plans to start operations of a huge experiment next year that aims to observe subatomic particles called neutrinos.
2The goal is to gather information that will help physicists better understand matter itself.
3That information will help solve one of the biggest mysteries in particle physics.
4The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory, or JUNO, is in China's southern Guangdong province.
5It is expected to begin operations in 2025.
6Reporters with the Reuters news agency recently reported on the laboratory in China.
7It also reported on similar efforts in the United States.
8The JUNO center has cost more than $300 million to build.
9Part of it is a 35-meter-tall sphere that is 700 meters underground.
10A huge pool of water holds the sphere.
11The JUNO center also contains tens of thousands of tubes, which can sense and intensify light.
12They will be put in place in the coming months.
13Chinese physicists and scientists from around the world are expected to study data on neutrinos from the center for up to six years.
14They will be hoping to find neutrinos that are produced by two nearby nuclear power stations.
15JUNO is also expected to be able to observe neutrinos from the sun and from radioactive materials in the Earth.
16The hope is that studying such neutrinos will add to knowledge of solar processes and the forces that move the Earth's surface.
17JUNO is expected to go into operation before a similar but much larger project in the United States.
18That project is called the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE.
19DUNE is part of an effort overseen by Fermilab, the top particle physics laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE.
20The whole experiment is known as the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, or LBNF.
21The LBNF has two main parts: one in South Dakota and the other in Illinois.
22However, DUNE is not expected to be complete until 2030.
23The experiment has had several delays and its estimated cost has gone past $3 billion.
24Wang Yifang is chief scientist and project manager of JUNO. Wang recently spoke to Reuters during a media event supported by the Chinese government.
25Wang said, "China had supported Fermilab's LBNF at the time, but later the cooperation could not continue."
26Wang added that "Around 2018-2019, the U.S. DOE asked all national laboratories not to cooperate with China, so Fermilab was forced to stop working with us."
27The DOE did not answer Reuters' request for comment.
28Tensions between China and the U.S. have increased in recent years.
29In August, a science and technology agreement between China and the U.S. lapsed.
30The agreement dated back to when the U.S. recognized mainland China in 1979.
31Supporters are concerned that the current situation will create duplication of research.
32They also say more scientists will seek different partners or miss out on chances to cooperate that could have led to useful discoveries.
33Reuters says that institutions from France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the U.S. and Taiwan are involved in JUNO.
34Neutrino observatories are also being built in other places.
35Wang told Reuters, "The one in the U.S. will be six years behind us. And the one in the France and in Japan, they will be two or three years later than us. So we believe that we can get the result of mass hierarchy (of neutrinos) ahead of everybody."
36"Mass hierarchy" is a complex question behind neutrinos that has to do with the mass of different kinds of neutrinos.
37The question of the mass states of neutrinos is considered a major mystery in particle physics.
38So far, real-life neutrino use remains a distant possibility.
39Some scientists say neutrinos could be used to send long-distance messages because they can pass through solid matter at nearly the speed of light.
40One U.S. group remains in JUNO. The group's leader says it has support from the National Science Foundation.
41There were more than 12 U.S. organizations involved in an earlier neutrino project in China called the Daya Bay experiment.
42Pedro Ochoa-Ricoux is with the University of California, Irvine.
43He said, "I believe that through our collaboration on this scientific endeavor, we are setting a positive example that may contribute, even in a small way, to bringing our countries closer together."
44JUNO aims to record neutrinos passing from nuclear power stations in Guangdong.
45An official with JUNO said the information will be sent to Beijing and electronically relayed to Russia, France and Italy at the same time.
46The official said there is a system to make sure no data is missing.
47Ochoa-Ricoux worked with China on the earlier Daya Bay experiment. He will lead the data analysis for JUNO.
48He also will be involved in the analysis for DUNE when it is available.
49Wang, who is also head of China's version of Fermilab, said, "We welcome the Americans."
50I'm Mario Ritter Jr. And I'm Jill Robbins.
1China plans to start operations of a huge experiment next year that aims to observe subatomic particles called neutrinos. 2The goal is to gather information that will help physicists better understand matter itself. That information will help solve one of the biggest mysteries in particle physics. 3The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory, or JUNO, is in China's southern Guangdong province. It is expected to begin operations in 2025. 4Reporters with the Reuters news agency recently reported on the laboratory in China. It also reported on similar efforts in the United States. 5What is JUNO? 6The JUNO center has cost more than $300 million to build. Part of it is a 35-meter-tall sphere that is 700 meters underground. A huge pool of water holds the sphere. The JUNO center also contains tens of thousands of tubes, which can sense and intensify light. They will be put in place in the coming months. 7Chinese physicists and scientists from around the world are expected to study data on neutrinos from the center for up to six years. They will be hoping to find neutrinos that are produced by two nearby nuclear power stations. 8JUNO is also expected to be able to observe neutrinos from the sun and from radioactive materials in the Earth. The hope is that studying such neutrinos will add to knowledge of solar processes and the forces that move the Earth's surface. 9What is DUNE? 10JUNO is expected to go into operation before a similar but much larger project in the United States. That project is called the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE. 11DUNE is part of an effort overseen by Fermilab, the top particle physics laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE. The whole experiment is known as the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, or LBNF. 12The LBNF has two main parts: one in South Dakota and the other in Illinois. However, DUNE is not expected to be complete until 2030. The experiment has had several delays and its estimated cost has gone past $3 billion. 13Wang Yifang is chief scientist and project manager of JUNO. Wang recently spoke to Reuters during a media event supported by the Chinese government. 14Wang said, "China had supported Fermilab's LBNF at the time, but later the cooperation could not continue." Wang added that "Around 2018-2019, the U.S. DOE asked all national laboratories not to cooperate with China, so Fermilab was forced to stop working with us." 15The DOE did not answer Reuters' request for comment. 16Sino-U.S. relations affected 17Tensions between China and the U.S. have increased in recent years. In August, a science and technology agreement between China and the U.S. lapsed. The agreement dated back to when the U.S. recognized mainland China in 1979. 18Supporters are concerned that the current situation will create duplication of research. They also say more scientists will seek different partners or miss out on chances to cooperate that could have led to useful discoveries. 19Reuters says that institutions from France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the U.S. and Taiwan are involved in JUNO. 20Neutrino observatories are also being built in other places. 21Wang told Reuters, "The one in the U.S. will be six years behind us. And the one in the France and in Japan, they will be two or three years later than us. So we believe that we can get the result of mass hierarchy (of neutrinos) ahead of everybody." 22"Mass hierarchy" is a complex question behind neutrinos that has to do with the mass of different kinds of neutrinos. The question of the mass states of neutrinos is considered a major mystery in particle physics. 23So far, real-life neutrino use remains a distant possibility. Some scientists say neutrinos could be used to send long-distance messages because they can pass through solid matter at nearly the speed of light. 24One U.S. group remains in JUNO. The group's leader says it has support from the National Science Foundation. 25There were more than 12 U.S. organizations involved in an earlier neutrino project in China called the Daya Bay experiment. 26Pedro Ochoa-Ricoux is with the University of California, Irvine. He said, "I believe that through our collaboration on this scientific endeavor, we are setting a positive example that may contribute, even in a small way, to bringing our countries closer together." 27How data from JUNO will be shared 28JUNO aims to record neutrinos passing from nuclear power stations in Guangdong. An official with JUNO said the information will be sent to Beijing and electronically relayed to Russia, France and Italy at the same time. The official said there is a system to make sure no data is missing. 29Ochoa-Ricoux worked with China on the earlier Daya Bay experiment. He will lead the data analysis for JUNO. He also will be involved in the analysis for DUNE when it is available. 30Wang, who is also head of China's version of Fermilab, said, "We welcome the Americans." 31I'm Mario Ritter Jr. And I'm Jill Robbins. 32Ryan Woo reported this story for Reuters. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. 33__________________________________________ 34Words in This Story 35sphere -n. a circle with height, width, and length like a globe 36lapse -v. to fall into disuse; to no longer be in effect 37duplication -v. to do something that is the same as something else and results in a copy 38collaboration -n. cooperative labor towards a goal 39contribute -v. to provide some aid in an effort that involves the many people providing help and materials 40relay -v. to pass something from one place to another through a device 41analysis -n. a careful study of information to learn something from it 42We want to hear from you. 43Our comment policy is here.