Posted on 05/08/2026 8:27:01 PM PDT by Red Badger
The beams are an in-kind contribution from CERN. Matthew Kapust / SURF The US has begun lowering 10 million pounds of steel nearly a mile underground to build the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), widely regarded as one of the world’s most ambitious particle physics experiments.
The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the premier US national lab for high-energy particle physics announced the start of the underground detector assembly for the massive neutrino project in South Dakota on May 7. It is carried out along with the Sanford Underground Research Facility and CERN.
Transported deep underground, the steel beams will be used for the construction of massive detector modules that will help Fermilab engineers to study neutrinos, some of the most common and least understood particles in the universe.
Norbert Holtkamp, Fermilab director, highlighted the importance of the advance. “Today represents the start of a pivotal phase for DUNE, the development of the far detector structures in South Dakota,” he elaborated.
A new construction phase DUNE brings together scientists and engineers from over 35 countries around the globe. Once fully operational, it will send the world’s most intense neutrino beam roughly 800 miles from Fermilab in Illinois to detectors buried deep beneath the ground at SURF in South Dakota.
For the project, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) provided personnel, expertise, and 10 million lbs of steel for the underground detectors. It is the organization’s first infrastructure investment outside Europe.
The event marked the start of 10 million pounds of steel beams being lowered underground to form the DUNE detectors. Credit: Landin Burke / Fermilab
The steel beams will be used to build the cryostats. These are massive insulated containers made to hold liquid argon cooled to -300 degrees Fahrenheit. These detectors will capture neutrino interactions with unprecedented precision.
Each of the first two detector modules will be massive. In practice, this translates to roughly 216 feet long, 62 feet wide, and 60 feet high, which is equal to the size of a five-story building. Once completed, each cryostat will contain approximately 17,000 tons of liquid argon, nearly a mile underground.
Going underground
Mark Thomson, CERN director general, revealed that CERN is supplying prototype detectors and giant cryostats for DUNE, while in parallel, US labs are providing superconducting magnets for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider. “This important milestone for DUNE is a testament to the strong scientific partnership between CERN and the US,” Thomson concluded in a press release.
The DUNE experiment is the largest scientific project currently backed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. It is, additionally, one of the most important neutrino experiments ever attempted.
DUNE will send the world’s most intense neutrino beam 800 miles from Fermilab in Illinois to detectors deep underground at SURF in South Dakota. Credit: Fermilab
Neutrinos are highly difficult to study because they rarely interact with matter. Billions pass through the human body every second unnoticed. According to Fermilab, the project could help answer some of the biggest physics mysteries, including why matter dominates over antimatter in the universe and how the universe evolved after the Big Bang.
The team also believes that the research could influence fields, including national security, communications, and medical imaging. The project brings together more than 1,500 scientists from institutions worldwide. With underground installation now underway, Fermilab’s next major target is delivering the first neutrino beam to DUNE by 2031.
The team also believes that the research could influence fields, including national security, communications, and medical imaging.
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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
discoveries, is not “Eureka!” (I found it!) but “That’s funny ...”
-— Isaac Asimov
I really still prefer the old trinos.
🙄😏.......................
A DUNEboggle?
Waiting for the Baskin-Robins 31 flavor experiment.
When I lived up in Beulah, Wyoming I used to hike around that facility in the Black Hills all the time. It’s a beautiful area.
My neighbor’s cat is missing. Will he be found too?
Will they clear that srap out when done?
Is your neighbor named Schrodinger?
Maybe Schrödinger in a past life. I keep dreaming that he waves to me.
😎
No one else saw “The Mist”??
Hard pass
😆
Was it last seen in a box?
I guess I mist it.
No.
Well worth every penny.
Understanding these particles better and what they do should improve the reliability of computers and who knows what else?
This is a sort of Wright Brothers thing where a very simple fabric and wood plane leads to an F-35, etc.
We have no more clue as to where this research will lead us than pioneers in aviation or any other field.
I’m hoping this research will tap into a revolutionary source of energy production.
Quotes from the full government report:
“According to our latest calculations, there’s a non-zero chance the neutrino blaster could unravel spacetime like a cheap sweater—but the chances are very small”
— Dr. Quinton B. Flargenheimer, Chief Theoretical Oopsicist
“While there is a theoretical risk of triggering a localized reality collapse, the paperwork classifies it as ‘unlikely enough to ignore.’”
— Dr. Elaine P. Throckmorton, Senior Particle Compliance Officer
“If the neutrino blaster works, we revolutionize physics. If it doesn’t, the resulting singularity should at least be quick.”
— Dr. Viktor Grimsby, Director of Experimental Consequences
“We did the math, and the universe exploding is only the third most likely outcome, which is a huge improvement over last week.”
— Dr. Bongo L. Spacklethorpe, Head of Predictive Guesswork
“I’ve personally reduced the probability of total cosmic annihilation to under one percent, which I consider a rounding error.”
— Dr. Cassandra V. Ionis, Lead Architect of Extremely Bold Ideas
“Look, in my defense, the blaster only started smoking *after* we turned the machine on.”
— Dr. Melvin J. Crinkle, Acting Supervisor
“According to the safety committee, we’re fully authorized to proceed as long as we’ve labeled the ‘possible universe-ending event’ as a ‘level-4 probability’ in section 4B.”
— Dr. Leonard H. Pritchard, Deputy Director of Procedural Physics
“The neutrino blaster’s risk profile has been reclassified as ‘synergistically catastrophic,’ which upper management assures me is a positive alignment.”
— Dr. Felicity R. Varnish, Chief Innovation Liaison
“We did identify a scenario in which the experiment destroys spacetime, but since it requires three additional forms to report, we’ve deferred it to the next quarter.”
— Dr. Howard K. Blemley, Senior Administrator of Theoretical Risks
“The oversight board concluded that as long as the implosion remains within acceptable margins, it qualifies as ‘within operational tolerance.’”
— Dr. Ingrid S. Halvorsen, Head of Compliance Dynamics
“We spent six hours in meetings determining that if the universe does collapse, we’ll circle back and address it with actionable next steps.”
— Dr. Trevor L. Dunsmore, Director of Strategic Experiments
“We can’t confirm whether the neutrino blaster will destroy the universe, but I can confirm we’ll need Form 27-B/6 signed *before* it does.”
— Dr. Penelope G. Wizzlecrank, Senior Manager of Pre-Catastrophic Documentation
“In the event of total cosmic collapse, all affected parties are required to submit a claim within five business days.”
— Dr. Randall T. Fizzwick, Director of Liability Containment
“Good news: the machine passed 97% of safety checks. The remaining 3% is labeled ‘unknowable cosmic horror,’ but that’s not technically a failure.”
— Dr. Beatrice L. Quonksby, Head of Quality Assurance
“We tried to cancel the experiment due to the risk of erasing causality, but the cancellation request was denied because it hasn’t happened yet.”
— Dr. Eugene P. Snatterfield, Coordinator of Temporal Approvals
If my theory is correct neutrinos are sitting in the cores of massive objects doing nothing but adding to the mass of objects.
Well, I have good news…and bad news.
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