Science:
Particle physicists and geophysicists rarely meet to compare
notes, but earlier this year researchers from these two
disciplines gathered to discuss antineutrinos (the antiparticle
of the neutrino). These fundamental particles are a by-product
of reactions occurring in nuclear reactors and pass easily
through Earth, but they are also generated deep inside Earth by
the natural radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and
potassium (in which case they are called geoneutrinos).
Particle physicists have recently shown that it is possible to
detect geoneutrinos and thus establish limits on the amount of
radioactive energy produced in the interior of our
planet.
