WIMP detector. Water shielding tank of the Weakly- Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) detector at the UK Dark Matter Collaboration (UKDMC) project si

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WIMP detector. Water shielding tank of the Weakly- Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) detector at the UK Dark Matter Collaboration (UKDMC) project site at Boulby Mine. About 90% of the universe's mass may be invisible dark matter such as WIMPS, the rest being visible matter such as stars. The UKDMC's detector is 1100 metres (m) underground in Europe's deepest mine so that the overlying rock blocks cosmic rays. The detector is surrounded by water to absorb natural radioactivity from the ca- vern walls. The detector observes the recoil ener- gies of normal nuclei after a collision with a WIMP, a rare event due to the WIMPs' weak interac- tion with other matter. Photographed in Britain.

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Size: 4723px × 3901px
Photo credit: © DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, astrophysics, boulby, dark, detector, matter, observatory, research, shielding, tank, ukdmc, water, wimp