Water From The Sun Has Been Found on The Moon

SPACE: 31 December 2022, By MICHELLE STARR

https://www.sciencealert.com/water-from-the-sun-has-been-found-on-the-moon

A solar eclipse photographed from Madison, Wisconsin in 2017. 

(Matt Anderson Photography/Moment/Getty Images)

A new analysis of dust retrieved from the Moon suggests that water bound up in the lunar surface could originate with the Sun.

More specifically, it could be the result of bombardment of hydrogen ions from the solar wind, slamming into the lunar surface, interacting with mineral oxides, and bonding with the dislodged oxygen. The result is water that could be hiding in the lunar regolith in significant quantities at mid and high latitudes.

This has implications for our understanding of the provenance and distribution of water on the Moon – and may even be relevant to our understanding of the origins of water on Earth.

The Moon looks like a pretty dry dustball, but recent studies have found that there's a lot more water up there than anyone ever suspected. Obviously it's not floating around in lakes and lagoons; it's bound up in the lunar regolith, possibly lurking as ice in permanently shadowed craters, and sequestered in globules of volcanic glass.

This naturally leads to questions, such as how much water is up there exactly? How is it distributed? And where the heck did it come from? The last question probably has multiple answers.

Some of it could have come from asteroid impacts. Some from Earth. One possible source, however, is hardly the first thing that comes to mind when imagining cosmic rain clouds.

To be fair, the Sun isn't exactly dripping with moisture, but its wind is certainly a reliable source of high-speed hydrogen ions. Evidence that includes an analysis of lunar dirt from the Apollo missions has previously raised the strong possibility that the solar wind is responsible for at least some of the Moon's ingredients for water.

Now a team of researchers led by geochemists Yuchen Xu and Heng-Ci Tian of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found chemistry in grains retrieved by the Chang'e-5 mission that further supports a solar source of lunar water.

They studied 17 grains: 7 olivine, 1 pyroxene, 4 plagioclase, and 5 glass. These were all, in contrast to low-latitude samples collected by Apollo and Luna, from a mid-latitude region of the Moon, and collected from the youngest known lunar volcanic basalt, from the driest basaltic basement.

Using Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, they studied the chemical composition of the rims of these grains – the outer, 100-nanometer shell of the grain that is most exposed to space weather, and therefore most altered in comparison to the grain interior.

The majority of these rims showed a very high hydrogen concentration of 1,116 to 2,516 parts per million, and very low deuterium/hydrogen isotope ratios. These ratios are consistent with the ratios of these elements found in the solar wind, suggesting that the solar wind slammed into the Moon, depositing hydrogen on the lunar surface.

The water content derived from the solar wind present in the Chang'e-5 landing site, they found, should be around 46 parts per million. That's consistent with remote sensing measurements.

To determine whether hydrogen could be preserved in lunar minerals, the researchers then performed heating experiments on some of their grains. They found that after burial, the grains can indeed retain hydrogen.

Finally, the researchers conducted simulations on the preservation of hydrogen in the lunar soil at different temperatures. This revealed that temperature plays a significant role in the implantation, migration, and outgassing of hydrogen on the Moon. This implies a significant amount of solar wind-derived water could be retained at mid and high latitudes, where temperatures are cooler.

A model based on these findings suggests that the polar regions of the Moon could be much richer in water created by the solar wind – information that could be very useful in planning future lunar exploration missions.

"The polar lunar soils could contain more water than Chang'e-5 samples," says cosmochemist Yangting Lin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"This discovery is of great significance for the future utilization of water resources on the Moon. Also, through particle sorting and heating, it is relatively easy to exploit and use the water contained in the lunar soil."

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Technology News: Can a computer recognize blurry objects?

 

Can a computer recognize blurry objects? - study

The researchers recorded the eye movements of people attempting to recognize blurred objects and, using a computational model, simulated the resulting activities of neurons in the retina.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH, Jerusalem Post, DECEMBER 29, 2022 

https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-726128

                                                                     The Human Eye (pixbay)

“Seeing eye to eye” is an expression of harmony, but do different people literally see the same thing when they view the same external world? “The short answer is no,” according to Dr. Liron Gruber and Prof. Ehud Ahissar of the brain sciences department of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.  “Even the same person sees the same thing differently each time they look at it.”

They reached these conclusions after conducting a study in which they investigated intriguing discrepancies between human and computer vision that had been uncovered by Weizmann mathematicians. Those researchers, headed by Prof. Shimon Ullman of the computer science and applied mathematics department, found that a computer algorithm – no matter how clever – was much worse than humans at interpreting image fragments known as minimally recognizable configurations (MIRCs) that recognize from which objects these fragments had been derived. 

When the researchers gradually cropped or blurred the MIRCs, recognition by the computer decreased in a linear fashion, but among human participants it dropped abruptly at a certain cut-off point. Gruber realized that experiments involving MIRCs could provide a wealth of data about the workings of the human visual system. 

They said that these findings represent a new direction in the search for the neural code – that is, how information is encoded in the brain – which, unlike the ubiquitous genetic code, probably varies from one brain region to another. The findings show that the retinal code results from a dynamic process in which the brain interacts with the external reality it encounters though the senses. 

Recognizing a blurred object

Moreover, when the researchers gradually cropped or blurred the MIRCs, recognition by the computer decreased in a linear fashion, whereas among human participants it dropped abruptly at a certain cut-off point (bottom row). (credit: COURTESY WEITZMAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE)

They explain why it takes time to recognize a blurred object or to figure out optical illusions – for example, to spot a ‘hidden’ Dalmatian amidst black patches on a white surface: Grasping such complex images requires scanning with the eyes. Once human vision – from eye movement to neural encoding – is better understood, it may be possible to develop efficient artificial aids for the visually impaired and to teach robots to catch up with humans in recognizing objects under challenging conditions.

How computers learn to recognize objects instantly

In an earlier study, she and Ahissar, her doctoral advisor, had already shown that contrary to the widely accepted view, the human eye doesn’t work like a camera that takes passive snapshots. In the new study, the two of them teamed up with computer scientist Ullman to put human vision to the test.

Identifying MIRCs typically takes people a relatively long time – more than two seconds, which is more than six times longer than the 300 or so milliseconds needed to recognize whole objects. The researchers recorded the eye movements of people attempting to recognize MIRCs and, using a computational model, simulated the resulting activities of neurons in the retina. These activity patterns varied not only with different eye movements; they differed depending on whether or not people managed to recognize the object in the picture. On average, recognition took four sets of scanning by the eyes of different points in the picture, and at each point, the eyes drifted locally in all directions for several hundred milliseconds, they reported.

“The eyes of different people follow different paths when viewing the same thing, and even the eyes of the same person never copy the same trajectory, so in a way, each time we look at something, it’s a one-off experience,” the Weizmann scientists added. 

The results showed that the interactions between eye movements and the object are critical to recognition. In fact, when the researchers canceled out the interactions between the objects and the eye movements – for example, by moving the pictures in step with the eyes – study participants failed to recognize the objects.

“The retina doesn’t create copies of the outside world – unlike a camera, which reproduces external patterns on film or digitally. Rather, human vision is an active process that involves interactions between the external objects and eye movements,” Ahissar explained. “The eyes of different people follow different paths when viewing the same thing, and even the eyes of the same person never copy the same trajectory, so in a way, each time we look at something, it’s a one-off experience.”

So how does the brain encode visual reality and how does this encoding result from the interactions between the eye movements and the object? “When we look at an object or scene, the light picked up by each receptor in the retina changes in intensity with every eye movement. The resultant patterns of neuronal activity can be interpreted and perhaps stored by the brain,” Gruber concluded.

How we teach computers to understand pictures

 

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Space News: Sim Dot Space to provide advanced simulation training for Beresheet 2

 

Sim Dot Space to provide advanced simulation training for Beresheet 2

The laboratory simulates the extreme conditions in space in general and on the moon in particular.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, DECEMBER 24, 2022

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-725696

 A simulation screen that simulates the landing process of a Beresheet 2 lander using Sim Dot Space technology (photo credit: Sim Dot Space)

The SpaceIL association has begun a collaboration with the Israeli company Sim Dot Space, within which it will provide a hybrid laboratory and a systemic digital simulation that will enable advanced training for the "Beresheet" (Beresheet) 2 mission.

The laboratory simulates the extreme conditions in space in general and on the moon in particular, through which comprehensive tests can be performed on the Beresheet 2 landers even before the mission is launched into space, helping to identify how each series of commands will cause the spacecraft to react.

SpaceIL's crews will practice operational procedures for landing the landers, while training in troubleshooting and emergency situations.

The founders of Sim Dot Space Assaf Levin and Amir Note were responsible for the development of the hybrid laboratory and the digital simulations of Beresheet 1 as well, and were called to assist with the challenges of Beresheet 2 employing the expertise they gained both from Beresheet 1 and from civilian and military projects that provided them with simulations since they founded the company in 2019.

The company's advanced infrastructure will perform system simulations in real-time which will also allow during the mission itself, similar to the Beresheet 1 mission, to examine the execution of the series of commands required in the various stages of the mission, by first running them in a laboratory back on Earth.

The laboratory, therefore, considers the real-time conditions of the spacecraft and the stage it is in during the mission first, and only after the laboratory verifies that the series of commands required for the next stage will it be transmitted, with a lower change of errors, and given permission to execute the series of commands in outer space.

"We are happy and excited that the SpaceIL association has chosen to integrate us into the fascinating project of Beresheet 2," Assaf Levin, CEO of Sim Dot Space, said.

"The Beresheet 1 mission has achieved many significant international milestones, including the first private spacecraft to successfully orbit the moon, but as far as we are concerned, the final mission of Beresheet 1, 'soft landing of an Israeli spacecraft on the moon,' has not yet been completed. We will do everything in our power to make sure that this time this mission is completed successfully," he said.

Beresheet 2 to break global records

The Beresheet 2 mission is planned to break records in global space history, including a double landing on the moon in one mission and a landing on the far side of the moon, a feat that only China has managed to perform to date.

In addition, the mother spacecraft, the Makefet, is planned to continue a long-term mission of about 5 years, acting as a platform for scientific educational activity in Israel and around the world, through a remote connection, which will allow students to participate in scientific research in deep space.

"In order to succeed in making history again, in the challenging mission of Beresheet 2, we are using advanced technologies and tools in preparation for the launch planned for 2025," Shimon Sharid, CEO of the SpaceIL association, said.

"In order to succeed in making history again, in the challenging mission of Beresheet 2, we are using advanced technologies and tools in preparation for the launch planned for 2025,"

Shimon Sharid, CEO of the SpaceIL association

"We are happy that Sim Dot Space is joining us on the journey, and bringing with them experience from various projects in the field of space and aviation and experience from the Beresheet 1 mission. We have learned lessons from Beresheet 1, and together we will observe possible scenarios within the framework of the Beresheet 2 mission, we will specify the necessary commands in space and prepare for the moments of truth in the best way possible," he said.

Ramon SpaceTech 2021 Beresheet 2 Going back to the moon

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Gold medal awarded for Heroism at Battle of the Nile goes up for auction for £100,000

Gold medal awarded to one of Lord Nelson's 'Band of Brothers' who fought with him at Battle of the Nile and helped admiral conduct his affair with Lady Hamilton goes up for sale for £100,000

• Vice Admiral Sir Davidge Gould was one of the captains under Nelson's command 
• Gould's HMS Audacious played key role in victory for the British over the French
• Medal given to Gould as one of Nelson's 'Band of Brothers'. To be sold January 18

A gold medal awarded to one of Admiral Lord Nelson's 'Band of Brothers' has emerged for sale for £100,000.

Vice Admiral Sir Davidge Gould was one of the loyal captains under Nelson's command at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.

Gould's ship, HMS Audacious, played a key role in ensuring a decisive victory for the British over the French.

At the end of the battle Gould sent Nelson the message that he had the French ship, Le Conquerant, in his possession.

Vice Admiral Sir Davidge Gould, who later also helped Nelson conduct his love affair with the married Lady Emma Hamilton, received the Royal Naval Gold Medal for his heroics at the Battle of the Nile

Gould (pictured) was one of the loyal captains under Nelson's command at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 

He added: 'The slaughter on board her is dreadful; her Captain is dying. I give you joy. This is a glorious victory. I am, with the utmost respect, yours in haste. D. Gould.'

The Audacious then helped batter the French ships Guerrier and Spartiate into their submissions and destroy L'Orient.

Of the 13 French ships that went into action against Nelson's navy, all but four were either sunk or captured.

Afterwards Nelson declared that 'victory is not a name strong enough for such a scene'.

He went on the quote Shakespeare's Henry V to describe his 14 loyal captains who served under him at the Nile and called them his 'Band of Brothers'.

Vice Admiral Gould, who later also helped Nelson conduct his love affair with the married Lady Emma Hamilton, received the Royal Naval Gold Medal for his heroics at the Battle of the Nile.

After 28 years at sea, he was forced to resign his command due to ill-health in 1804 - a year before the famous Battle of Trafalgar where Nelson was fatally wounded.

Vice Admiral Gould was the last surviving member of Nelson's Band of Brothers and died in 1847. 

Of the 13 French ships that went into action against Nelson's navy, all but four were either sunk or captured

Afterwards Nelson (pictured) declared that 'victory is not a name strong enough for such a scene'. He went on the quote Shakespeare's Henry V to describe his 14 loyal captains who served under him at the Nile and called them his 'Band of Brothers'

Vice Admiral Gould was the last surviving member of Nelson's Band of Brothers and died in 1847. His gold medal is now being sold by a private collector at auctioneers Noonans of Mayfair, London

His gold medal is now being sold by a private collector at auctioneers Noonans of Mayfair, London.

Because of his close connection to Nelson, the single medal is valued at £100,000.

Christopher Mellor-Hill, head of client liaison at Noonans, said: 'The gold medal speaks for itself in that very few of these ever come on the market having survived being melted down for their gold content.

'They were only awarded to the captains of the HMS ships in such important and successful naval actions. It is being sold by a collector.'

Vice Admiral Gould was born at Bridgewater, Somerset, in 1758, and joined the navy at the age of 13 as a volunteer on HMS Alarm, a 32-gun frigate.

He worked his way up to midshipman and spent four years on HMS Phoenix, taking part in the American Revolutionary War.

By 1782 he was a lieutenant on HMS Conqueror and took part in the British victory at the Battle of the Saintes over the combined French and Spanish fleet.

After that he was made captain and was at the invasion of Corsica in 1794 during which Nelson was blinded in the right eye.

He was then at the Battle of Genoa before he joined Nelson's fleet in racing across the Mediterranean to reach the French navy at Alexandria, Egypt, in the summer of 1798.

During the voyage Gould was summoned to Nelson's quarters on the flagship HMS Vanguard to discuss tactics.

The British took the French by surprise and attacked their ships on both sides.

The British took the French by surprise and attacked their ships on both sides

Vice Admiral Gould's crew overcame Le Conquerant after a desperate close-range fight and took her surrender.

It then helped with the attack on the Guerrier and Spartiate before sinking L'Orient which exploded into a ball of flames with the loss of 1,000 of her crew.

The British victory made Nelson a hero overnight and he returned to Naples, Italy, to great fanfare.

It was at this time he met and fell in love with the married Lady Hamilton.

During a peaceful period in the Napoleonic Wars, Vice Admiral Gould returned to Somerset and married Harriet Willes, eldest daughter of the Reverend William Willes, Archdeacon of Taunton.

On the resumption of hostilities against the French in 1803, he was given command of HMS Windsor Castle and engaged in blockading Brest.

The sale takes place on January 18 after Nelson's battle plans which led to his Trafalgar victory were up for auction on December 13. 

'Forget Trafalgar... the Battle of the Nile was Nelson's finest hour'

Many historians agree that the Battle of the Nile was more significant than Trafalgar, the battle in which Nelson died. It was during this conflict that Généreux was nearly taken by the Lord Admiral's men but the ship managed to escaped - only to be captured two years later.

In August 1798, the French were at anchor in Aboukir Bay in shallow water, using the shore to protect the south-western side of the fleet, while the north-eastern faced open sea.

Although the ships were chained together, Nelson believed the chain between the last ship in the line and the shore was sunk deep enough to let a vessel pass.

In a daring night-time manoeuvre, his fleet slipped through the gap and attacked the French on their unprotected side.

The battle established Britain as the dominant sea power during the French revolutionary wars and was immortalised in the poem Casablanca, known for its opening line 'The boy stood on the burning deck'.

Nelson's flagship during the battle was the Vanguard. Other British ships commemorated by surviving copses include the Minotaur, Defence, Swiftsure, Theseus, Orion, Bellerophon and Alexander.

Stephen Fisher of the National Trust said: 'The Battle of the Nile in 1798 was one of Nelson's most significant clashes with Napoleon.

'Forget Trafalgar, this was Nelson's finest hour and at the time was his most famous victory.'

Divers pull out a 200-year-old canon (pictured) from the ship wreck of the Orient, the French fleet's flagship during the Battle of the Nile, in 1999

Team creates protein-based material that can stop supersonic impacts

DECEMBER 14, 2022, by Katherine Moss, University of Kent

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-team-protein-based-material-supersonic-impacts.html

The design concept of TSAM. 

a. Cartoon representation of the protein talin, F = FERM domain, R = rod domain, DD = dimerisation domain. The R1-R3 region is shown in orange.

b. The control monovalent crosslinker 1 and the trivalent crosslinker 2, 

c. pGEL in the folded state, green boxes = flexible linkers, blue box = R1-R3 domains of talin. 

d. Resulting gelation for each crosslinker. 

e. Representation of the three-armed network structure formed from crosslinker 2 with no applied strain. 

f. pGEL in fully folded state presents length of ≈15 nm. g. When exposed to strain pGEL unfolds into a linear string of helices extending to ~65 nm in length. 

h. When exposed to higher strain, pGEL unfolds fully into extended polypeptide, increasing to a length of ~156 nm. Complete refolding can occur once strain is removed.

 i. Representation of the three-armed network structure with applied strain, causing extension of protein into opened helices form, increasing fibre length. 

Credit: bioRxiv (2022). DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.29.518433

A University of Kent team, led by Professors Ben Goult and Jen Hiscock, has created and patented a new shock-absorbing material that could revolutionize both the defense and planetary science sectors.

This novel protein-based family of materials, named TSAM (Talin Shock Absorbing Materials), represents the first known example of a SynBio (or synthetic biology) material capable of absorbing supersonic projectile impacts. This opens the door for the development of next-generation bulletproof armor and projectile capture materials to enable the study of hypervelocity impacts in space and the upper atmosphere (astrophysics).

Professor Ben Goult explained, "Our work on the protein talin, which is the cell's natural shock absorber, has shown that this molecule contains a series of binary switch domains which open under tension and refold again once tension drops. This response to force gives talin its molecular shock absorbing properties, protecting our cells from the effects of large force changes. When we polymerized talin into a TSAM, we found the shock absorbing properties of talin monomers imparted the material with incredible properties."

The team went on to demonstrate the real-world application of TSAMs, subjecting this hydrogel material to 1.5 km/s supersonic impacts—a faster velocity than particles in space impact both natural and man-made objects (typically > 1 km/s) and muzzle velocities from firearms—which commonly fall between 0.4–1.0 km/s. Furthermore, the team discovered that TSAMs can not only absorb the impact of basalt particles (~60 µM in diameter) and larger pieces of aluminum shrapnel, but also preserve these projectiles post-impact.

Current body armor tends to consist of a ceramic face backed by a fiber-reinforced composite, which is heavy and cumbersome. Also, while this armor is effective in blocking bullets and shrapnel, it doesn't block the kinetic energy which can result in behind armor blunt trauma.

Furthermore, this form of armor is often irreversibly damaged after impact, because of compromised structural integrity preventing further use. This makes the incorporation of TSAMs into new armor designs a potential alternative to these traditional technologies, providing a lighter, longer-lasting armor that also protects the wearer against a wider range of injuries including those caused by shock.

In addition, the ability of TSAMs to both capture and preserve projectiles post-impact makes it applicable within the aerospace sector, where there is a need for energy dissipating materials to enable the effective collection of space debris, space dust and micrometeoroids for further scientific study.

Furthermore, these captured projectiles facilitate aerospace equipment design, improving the safety of astronauts and the longevity of costly aerospace equipment. Here TSAMs could provide an alternative to industry standard aerogels—which are liable to melt due to temperature elevation resulting from projectile impact.

Professor Jen Hiscock said, "This project arose from an interdisciplinary collaboration between fundamental biology, chemistry and materials science which has resulted in the production of this amazing new class of materials. We are very excited about the potential translational possibilities of TSAMs to solve real world problems. This is something that we are actively undertaking research into with the support of new collaborators within the defense and aerospace sectors."

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Scientific Research News: New CERN data dismisses apparent anomaly in Standard Model of Physics

 

New CERN data dismisses apparent anomaly in Standard Model of Physics

While earlier data from CERN found that beauty quarks weren't behaving as expected, new analysis shows the prior data was flawed.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, DECEMBER 25, 2022

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-725738

A general view of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiment is seen during a media visit at the Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in the French village of Saint-Genis-Pouilly near Geneva in Switzerland, July 23, 2014 (photo credit: REUTERS/PIERRE ALBOUY)

New data analyzed by the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment at CERN have found that previous data indicating a violation of the Standard Model of particle physics was flawed, with the new data matching up with the Standard Model, CERN announced on Tuesday.

In March 2021, physicists from the Universities of Cambridge, Bristol, and Imperial College London taking part in the LHCb experiment at CERN published an analysis that found evidence that "beauty quarks," a type of fundamental particle, do not decay in the way they should following the Standard Model.

Beauty quarks, particles similar to but heavier than electrons, interact with all forces in the same way, so they should decay into muons and electrons at the same rate.

However, the data collected by the LHCb seemed to show that these quarks are decaying into muons less often than they decay into electrons, which should only be possible if unknown particles are interfering and making them more likely to decay into electrons.

Even at the time, the University of Cambridge noted that the data was not strong enough to make any definitive statements as it was three standard deviations from the Standard Model, meaning there is a 1 in 1,000 chance that the measurement is a statistical coincidence.

                                  LHCb at CERN (credit: x70tjw/Wikimedia Commons)

The gold standard of particle physics is five standard deviations, also known as five sigma, meaning there is about a 1 in 3.5 million chance that the measurement is a statistical coincidence.

The new analysis by the LHCb, which has been conducted over the past five years, is more comprehensive than the data published last year. For the first time, it considers the decay modes of two different B-mesons - composite particles that contain beauty quarks - simultaneously and provides better control of the background processes that can mimic the decay of these mesons to electrons.

LHCb spokesperson Chris Parkes explained to Nature that one of the issues that caused the apparent discrepancies in the earlier data was that some particles were misidentified as electrons.

"The latest LHCb findings take nothing away from our mission to push the boundary of our knowledge further, and the search for anomalies, guided by experimental hints, goes on!”

Theoretical physicist Michelangelo Mangano of CERN

“Earlier LHCb indications of anomalies concerning lepton flavor universality triggered excitement,” said theoretical physicist Michelangelo Mangano of CERN in a press release. “That such anomalies could potentially have been real shows just how much remains unknown since theoretical interpretations exposed a myriad of unanticipated possible phenomena. The latest LHCb findings take nothing away from our mission to push the boundary of our knowledge further, and the search for anomalies, guided by experimental hints, goes on!”

Other findings still indicate possible issues with Standard Model

While the LHCb's earlier discrepancy has now been corrected, there are a number of other recent findings in other areas of physics which may poke holes in the Standard Model.

The Standard Model is a highly precise system used to understand physics and each part of that system interacts. If even one predicted measurement is slightly off from the real measurement, it could set the entire model off balance. 

In April, physicists found that an elementary particle called a W boson seems to be about 0.1% heavier than it was predicted to be.

W bosons are fundamental particles that are responsible for the weak force, a fundamental force that can change the makeup of particles and is responsible for the processes that fuel the sun and cause particles to decay.

Other measurements conducted of the W boson have recorded a discrepancy between the measured weight and the weight expected by the Standard Model as well, but some of those measurements have been a lot closer to the Standard Model.

In June, an anomaly first observed in neutrino experiments in the 1990s was reaffirmed by a new experiment that possibly indicated a new, unconfirmed elementary particle or the need for a new interpretation of the Standard Model.

Neutrinos are the most abundant fundamental particles that have mass in the universe and have been detected from many sources, including the sun and cosmic-ray interactions. And they are among the least understood particles in the standard model of particle physics.

Neutrinos come in three "flavors" – electron, muon and tau – and oscillate between these flavors as they travel. However, in the 90s, scientists detected a gap in the timing between the oscillations at the Soviet-American Gallium Experiment (SAGE) in which the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico took part.

The newest instance of the anomaly was observed at the Baksan Experiment on Sterile Transitions (BEST) in Russia's Caucasus Mountains, where 26 irradiated disks of chromium 51 were used to irradiate an inner and outer tank of gallium, a soft, silvery metal used to detect neutrinos. The neutrinos hitting the gallium produce germanium 71, which scientists can then use to determine the number of direct collisions with neutrinos while in their electron flavor.

In the latest experiment, the measured rate of germanium 71 production was 20%-24% lower than expected based on theoretical modeling. The gap could be explained by the existence of sterile neutrinos - a possible fourth flavor of neutrino - which could be an important part of dark matter, although this requires further research. 

Muon Collider: A great potential for high-energy physics!

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