Massachusetts Institute of Technology – A report in the Physical Review Letters says that scientists have built up a small, tabletop particle detector that can detect single electrons and neutrinos. The team of physicists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed the particle detector that can identify the electrons coming out of the radioactive gas.
The detector makes use of magnets for trapping the electrons that are emitted by the decaying of the radioactive gas. The radioactive gas is kept in a specially prepared magnetic bottle so that the electrons are easily trapped and detected.
Electrons Emit Weak Signals
According to the scientists, the electrons give away very weak signals within the bottle due to which their activity has to be monitored overall several milliseconds. This low signal activity of the electrons displays a characteristic pattern when the gas is emitted. During the activity, the electrons released vibrate at a specific baseline frequency and can spike when they collide with the radioactive gas atom.
According to MIT physicist, Joe Formaggio, when the electron collides with several atoms in the detector, the frequency jumps indicating a specific step-like pattern. He further added that this makes it easier to image the electron frequency, which instantly pops up into the radio antenna. As the frequency changes after some time, the electrons start chirping in the radio waves.
According to him, this work is a significant step in the direction of the long-sought elusive goal of physics that will surely help to track the neutrino mass. The researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Washington helped the MIT scientists develop this detector.
Defining Mass of Neutrino Can Now Be Possible
This new breakthrough can help solve one of the maddening mysteries of the physics-the mass of the neutrino. A very hard to detect basic particle that moves uncontrollably throughout the universe and does not interact with normal matter typically is known as neutrinos.
