Science
DUNE neutrino detector assembly scheduled to begin in South Dakota mine
The Guardian reports that assembly of the DUNE detectors should take nearly three years, plus a year to fill them with liquid argon.
The short version
- Construction of the DUNE experiment in the former Homestake mine is due to begin Monday, according to The Guardian.[The Guardian]
- The detectors will be up to five storeys high, use more than 4,000 tonnes of steel, and hold 70,000 tonnes of liquid argon chilled to -200C.[The Guardian]
- Assembly is expected to take nearly three years and filling with liquid argon another year, though these timelines are estimates.[The Guardian]
Key facts
- Construction of DUNE in the former Homestake mine is due to start on Monday.[The Guardian]
- The DUNE detectors will stand up to five storeys high.[The Guardian]
- The detectors will be made from more than 4,000 tonnes of steel.[The Guardian]
- The detectors will hold a combined 70,000 tonnes of liquid argon chilled to -200C.[The Guardian]
- Assembly should take nearly three years, and filling the detectors with liquid argon should take another year.[The Guardian]
- The Lux-Zeplin experiment at the same facility last month reported the first potential detection of dark matter.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- The Monday start is a scheduled date, and the reporting does not confirm that underground work has begun.[The Guardian]
- The assembly and filling timelines are estimates, and the reporting provides no independent verification of them.[The Guardian]
- Coverage rests on a single outlet, The Guardian, so the details have not been independently corroborated.[The Guardian]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.