Physicists measured Earth’s mass using neutrinos for the first time

Author: Emily Conover / Source: Science News

illustration of cosmic rays — PARTICLE PROBES Subatomic particles called neutrinos are created when spacefaring protons and other particles smash into Earth’s atmosphere (illustrated). Scientists have now used neutrinos to measure the Earth’s mass and the densities of its layers.

Earth: Reto Stöckli, Nazmi El Saleous and Marit Jentoft-Nilsen/GSFC/NASA, adapted by E.

Otwell

Puny particles have given scientists a glimpse inside the Earth.

For the first time, physicists have measured the planet’s mass using neutrinos, minuscule subatomic particles that can pass straight through the entire planet. Researchers also used the particles to probe the Earth’s innards, studying how the planet’s density varies from crust to core.

Typically, scientists determine Earth’s mass and density by quantifying the planet’s gravitational pull and by studying seismic waves that penetrate the globe. Neutrinos provide a completely independent test of the planet’s properties. Made using data from the IceCube neutrino observatory at the South Pole, the new planetary profile agreed with…

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