Let’s discuss neutrinos
Two darkish matter experiments have noticed indicators of neutrinos knocking into atomic nuclei of their detectors. The discovering portends a future impediment for the detectors, Emily Conover reported in “ ‘Fog’ invades darkish matter experiments” (SN: 8/24/24, p. 12).
These detectors scan for darkish matter’s interactions with the nucleus of a xenon atom. Reader Robert Walty puzzled how that would work. Doesn’t darkish matter work together with regular matter solely by way of gravity?
To date, scientists have detected darkish matter solely by way of its gravitational interactions with regular matter. However the mysterious substance might doubtlessly work together by way of different forces, Conover says. It’s potential darkish matter would possibly work together by way of the weak nuclear power, for instance. “That sort of interplay is what these detectors are in search of,” she says.
Walty additionally requested how a neutrino, which is far smaller than a proton, might slam into a whole atomic nucleus.
“Subatomic particles aren’t like billiard balls of various sizes bouncing round. As a substitute, they act like waves,” Conover says. If a particle’s wavelength is longer than an atom’s nucleus, it should work together with the nucleus as an entire, somewhat than with a person proton or neutron. Within the case of a neutrino hitting a nucleus, the interplay truly happens by way of one other particle, referred to as a Z boson, which the neutrino exchanges with the nucleus. If the Z boson’s wavelength is sufficiently big, the entire nucleus will recoil as one.
Pollination and plastics
The electrostatically charged wings of moths and butterflies might draw pollen out of close by flowers with out the bugs needing to land on the blooms, Anna Gibbs reported in “Pollination by way of static electrical energy” (SN: 8/24/24, p. 13).
Reader Michael Skinner requested whether or not that static might additionally entice microplastics and intrude with pollination.
Sadly, the reply might be sure, says ecologist Sam England of the Pure Historical past Museum in Berlin. Microplastics are usually electrostatically charged, so they might seemingly be drawn to pollinators with the other cost, he says. The supplies might additionally probably mess with pollination, since they “are recognized to intrude with many alternative organic processes in vegetation,” England says. However this has but to be examined, so the magnitude of those potential results are unknown.
Portraits of a rover
NASA’s Perseverance rover has discovered its first potential trace of historic life on Mars, Lisa Grossman reported in “Mars rover finds a serious shock” (SN: 8/24/24, p. 6).
Readers requested how the rover, nicknamed Percy, snapped the picture of itself featured within the story.
Percy’s “selfies” are literally a crew effort. The rover’s WATSON digital camera is primarily designed for close-ups of rocks and captures solely small elements of a scene. So engineers on Earth direct Percy to take dozens of photographs of itself from numerous angles. Picture processing engineers then use software program to wash up and assemble the pictures into a whole picture.
