Dark Matter Detection With Noble Gas
In my explanation of Dark Matter (click here) I talked about how we can’t see it, so you may be wondering why we have detectors trying to find someting that we can’t see. Dark matter detectors are designed to detect the tiny, rare signals produced when a dark matter particle interacts with ordinary matter. In noble-gas detectors, scientists look for these interactions by detecting the light and electrons produced when a gas atom is disturbed. But because the surface of the earth has a lot of existing background radiation from the sun and space (don’t worry, this stuff is perfectly…
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Dark Matter
Science Snippet #3 Dark matter might seem like a crazy concept… Crazy enough that many people believe it does not exist! We have not yet been able to detect it. It doesn’t interact with light or the electromagnetic force, so we can’t see it or measure it with electronic equipment (which is too bad, our eyes and our electronics are typically our most useful tool). The only way we have been able to know it exists is through its interactions with gravity. In fact, we’ve been able to tell that there is more dark matter than regular matter (the stuff…
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A First Look at Quantum Mechanics (A Particle in a Box)
Science Snippet #2 Let me preface this science snippet by saying don’t worry if things get confusing, there will be simplified story to explain the concepts, just like in the neutrino snippet (only this time with ice cream instead of coffee)! Quantum mechanics is a hugely important concept to learn: it explains how the universe works, it’s the basis for a lot of modern technology like MRI machines and lasers, and it’s key to future emerging technologies such as quantum computing! The Nobel Prize for physics this year went to a team who experimented with showing quantum mechanical effects on…
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