Construction of the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory, a major example of national science and technology infrastructure, has made major progress with the recent installation of the equatorial layer of its central organic glass sphere detector.
Located in Jiangmen city in South China's Guangdong province, the organic glass sphere – with a diameter of about 35 meters – is positioned 700 meters underground, enabling it to be used to assist scientists in detecting neutrinos.
Scientists say it is the largest single organic glass sphere in the world. The device is being produced and installed by Donchamp (Jiangsu) Materials Technology Co Ltd, based in Taixing city in Jiangsu province.
Construction continues of the glass sphere neutrino detector. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfabu]
The sphere is made up of 263 huge spherical panels, installed and spliced in layer after layer, from top to bottom. Its equatorial layer has the largest horizontal diameter and is composed of fifteen 3-metric-ton panels. Each panel is approximately 8 meters long and 3 meters wide, with a thickness of only 120 millimeters.
The central detector is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It will operate for 30 years and is expected to produce a series of major physical discoveries in the accurate measurement of neutrinos.
A technician checks things at the glass sphere neutrino detector. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfabu]