IceCube Neutrino Observatory to be Completed in December 2010
31.08.2010 - Atmosphere & Space, Antarctic
December 2010 should see the completion of the world’s first kilometer-scale neutrino observatory, IceCube, located beneath the surface of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Neutrinos are among the most abundant particles in the universe, and although they are formed by the most violent events in the universe, they have no charge, and thus only interact weakly with matter. However, when hitting the nucleus of an atom, neutrinos create a particle called a muon and produce a ray of blue light, which can be detected with optical sensors.
Featuring some 5,160 optical sensors spread over one cubic kilometre of crystal clear Antarctic ice, the mission of IceCube will be to detect the light emitted by neutrinos during their interaction with the nuclei in the ice. Through each optical sensor - a complete data acquisition system including a phototube, digitization electronics, control and trigger systems, and light-emitting diodes for calibration - IceCube will help analyze the type of neutrino interaction and the energy and the direction from which the neutrino originated.
In the future, IceCube will be used in various scientific missions such as the search for sources of cosmic rays, the observation of galactic supernova explosions, the search for dark matter, and the study of the neutrinos themselves.
