Neutrino Art Installation
In 2009, Nelly Ben Hayoun created an art installation under a London night-club that replicated a neutrino detector. It was based on the Super-Kamiokande neutrino observatory in Japan, which uses 11,000 golden photomultiplier tubes to register the light created when a neutrino meets an electron of pure water in their 45,000 tonne tank and creates a sonic boom. The installation, called Super K Sonic Booooum, consisted of a 22 metre long “river” through a tunnel lined with thousands of silver balloons (photomultiplier tubes). The public were invited to ride on a boat through the tunnel, accompanied by a physicist guide, to experience a recreation of the real Super-K interactions between neutrinos and electrons of extremely pure water, including sound and lighting effects to demonstrate a sonic boom. The artist’s aim was to engage non-scientists with particle physics, immersing them in a journey through the physics of our universe.
Image Credit: SuperKSonic)
(via sciencesoup:)
