Scientists in a lab with Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in southern Guangdong Province have found neutrino through two detecting instruments, which is likely to provide clues to solving the mystery of why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe.
The announcement
The Institute of High Energy Physics with the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Monday announced the breakthrough that was achieved by more than 250 researchers from six countries and regions.
ADVERTISEMENT
The two neutrino detectors are installed underground 360 meters away from the nuclear plant at a depth of 100 meters.
Scientists believe that matter and antimatter were created in equal amounts during the Big Bang, but the disappearance of antimatter remains a mystery.
Neutrino is an elementary particle that is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected, which makes it extremely difficult to detect.
ADVERTISEMENT
Located in Shenzhen, a city neighbouring Hong Kong, the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station commenced operation in 1993.
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the U.S.-based Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory started the underground neutrino experiment in 2006.
After the Big Bang
Kam-Biu Luk, spokesman for the laboratory, said that the results of the experiment would further shed light on the evolution of basic matter after the Big Bang.
The neutrino experiment in the Daya Bay is one of the largest cooperation projects with regards to basic research between China and the United States. Among the participants of the experiment are Russia, Czech Republic, and China's Hong Kong and Taiwan regions.