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China is betting on space: the new Trident telescope is ready to reveal the secrets of the universe.
Scientists from China have begun building a giant neutrino telescope in the South China Sea. This project, called Trident or Hailing in Chinese, aims to help solve the century-old mystery of the origin of cosmic rays and explore the extreme limits of the universe.
When completed in 2030, Trident will be the largest and most advanced in the world, according to the project team. The telescope will be anchored to the sea floor at a depth of 3.5 km in the western Pacific Ocean. Its task is to scan the surrounding seawater in search of flashes of light that occur when cosmic neutrinos collide with water molecules.
"Using Earth as a shield, Trident will detect neutrinos coming from the opposite side of the planet," said Shu Donglian of Shanghai Jiaotong University, the project's chief scientist.
The telescope will also help test the symmetries of space and time, search for quantum gravity, and indirectly search for dark matter.
Cosmic rays constantly bombard the Earth's atmosphere. But even more than a hundred years after their discovery, scientists are still unsure of their origins. However, cosmic rays also contain neutrinos - evasive subatomic particles that can serve as a powerful tool for uncovering the origin of cosmic radiation.
According to the Chinese team, Trident will be much more sensitive than existing neutrino telescopes. It will have up to 10,000 times more features than the IceCube observatory at the South Pole.
The Trident ,which will last for 20 years, consists of 1,200 vertical strings of sensors placed on the sea floor.
The pilot phase of the project is expected by 2026 with funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Shanghai Government and Shanghai Jiaotong University.
Scientists from China have begun building a giant neutrino telescope in the South China Sea. This project, called Trident or Hailing in Chinese, aims to help solve the century-old mystery of the origin of cosmic rays and explore the extreme limits of the universe.
When completed in 2030, Trident will be the largest and most advanced in the world, according to the project team. The telescope will be anchored to the sea floor at a depth of 3.5 km in the western Pacific Ocean. Its task is to scan the surrounding seawater in search of flashes of light that occur when cosmic neutrinos collide with water molecules.
"Using Earth as a shield, Trident will detect neutrinos coming from the opposite side of the planet," said Shu Donglian of Shanghai Jiaotong University, the project's chief scientist.
The telescope will also help test the symmetries of space and time, search for quantum gravity, and indirectly search for dark matter.
Cosmic rays constantly bombard the Earth's atmosphere. But even more than a hundred years after their discovery, scientists are still unsure of their origins. However, cosmic rays also contain neutrinos - evasive subatomic particles that can serve as a powerful tool for uncovering the origin of cosmic radiation.
According to the Chinese team, Trident will be much more sensitive than existing neutrino telescopes. It will have up to 10,000 times more features than the IceCube observatory at the South Pole.
The Trident ,which will last for 20 years, consists of 1,200 vertical strings of sensors placed on the sea floor.
The pilot phase of the project is expected by 2026 with funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Shanghai Government and Shanghai Jiaotong University.
