Why must there be so many mysteries in life? Just what is the Missing Link, and is he (or she) some distant ancestor? Why must we hiccup? Is it safe to eat roadkill? While we may never know the answers to these great questions in life, we may soon know the secrets of the universe, thanks to this old South Dakota mine:
Located well beneath the surface of Lead is the Sanford Underground Research Facility, which is on a mission to find the “answers to the most fundamental questions about the universe.”
Sanford Underground Research Facility Facebook
Opened in 2006, the Sanford Underground Research Facility is housed inside the iconic Homestake Gold Mine, which — until its closure in 2002 — was regarded as the deepest and most productive gold mine in the Western Hemisphere.
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Now the deepest underground laboratory in the country, the Sanford Underground Research Facility is on a mission to discover just how the universe even exists, which they hypothesize to be not only equal parts matter and antimatter, but something called neutrinos.
Google/Matthew Kapust
How will the scientists at Sanford prove their theory? The experiment will last 10 years, cost $1B+, and consist of removing some 870,000 tons of rock, but the researchers at both the Underground Research Facility and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Chicago plan to beam the neutrinos to each other from 800 miles away.
Google/Matthew Kapust
If the experiment is successful, what does it prove? According to researchers, it will show why matter dominates antimatter and if neutrinos did indeed play a role in the earth’s formation.
Google/Matthew Kapust
From now until 2027, the Sanford Underground Research Facility will be removing the hundreds of thousands of tons of rock between Lead and Chicago, as well as installing a 4-story-high 70,000-ton neutrino detector, which will take up the Facility’s time, manpower, and budget.
Google/Shailabh Rauniyar
Are the secrets of the universe housed within the Homestake Gold Mine? To find out, check back with Only in South Dakota in late 2027!
Google/David McCollough In the meantime, you can visit the Sanford Underground Research Facility’s website for more information.
To learn even more about this historic Lead mine, check out Rare Footage In The 1940s Shows South Dakota In A Completely Different Way.
Sanford Underground Research Facility Facebook
Wikimedia Commons
Google/Matthew Kapust
Google/Shailabh Rauniyar
Google/David McCollough
In the meantime, you can visit the Sanford Underground Research Facility’s website for more information.
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