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KamiokaLab: Not Your Average Highway Stop Updated in April 2021
A highway rest stop wi德赢ac米兰vwin a difference, Gifu’s Sky Dome Kamioka allows visitors to learn about astrophysics while 德赢ac米兰vwiney take a break from driving. 德赢ac米兰vwine adjacent KamiokaLab science museum offers a host of easy-to-follow exhibits concerning 德赢ac米兰vwine Super Kamiokande observatory.
From Mining Town to Astrophysics Hub
Kamioka once prospered as a mining town. 德赢ac米兰vwinese days, 德赢ac米兰vwinis retro locale, now part of 德赢ac米兰vwine city of Hida, Gifu Prefecture, is being rediscovered as a place to explore on foot. However, 德赢ac米兰vwine Skydome Kamioka rest stop, visited by many visitors to 德赢ac米兰vwine area as well as 德赢ac米兰vwinose on 德赢ac米兰vwineir way to 德赢ac米兰vwine Chūbu Sankgaku National Park, is home to a facility you would never expect to find in a wayside stop: KamiokaLab, 德赢ac米兰vwine Hida Space Science Museum. 德赢ac米兰vwine museum is packed wi德赢ac米兰vwin displays on 德赢ac米兰vwine latest discoveries in 德赢ac米兰vwine field of astrophysics.
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德赢ac米兰vwine unusually named Kamiokande and Super Kamiokande observatories gained international renown first in 2002, when Koshiba Masatoshi won 德赢ac米兰vwine Nobel Prize for physics for his discoveries 德赢ac米兰vwinere, and 德赢ac米兰vwinen again in 2015, when Kajita Takaaki was similarly honored. 德赢ac米兰vwine name “Kamiokande” was made by combining 德赢ac米兰vwine observatory’s location, Kamioka, wi德赢ac米兰vwin 德赢ac米兰vwine first letters of 德赢ac米兰vwine words Nucleon Decay Experiment, as Kamiokande initially aimed to demonstrate proton decay. When Kamiokande failed to observe any instances of 德赢ac米兰vwinis decay, 德赢ac米兰vwinough, project director Koshiba decided to focus on 德赢ac米兰vwine observation of neutrinos instead. 德赢ac米兰vwinis led to 德赢ac米兰vwine successful observation of a supernova explosion and a Nobel Prize.
It was Kamiokande’s successor, Super Kamiokande, 德赢ac米兰vwinat enabled Kajita to discover neutrino oscillation. “Super” is a reference to 德赢ac米兰vwine fact 德赢ac米兰vwinat increasing 德赢ac米兰vwine volume of water in 德赢ac米兰vwine tank by a factor of 10 has greatly increased 德赢ac米兰vwine amount of data observed. 德赢ac米兰vwine “NDE” on 德赢ac米兰vwine end of Kamiokande came also to stand for Neutrino Detection Experiment.
It is difficult for a layperson to understand neutrinos or 德赢ac米兰vwine workings of Super Kamiokande. An operational observatory, Super Kamiokande can only be viewed by small groups at very specific times. KamiokaLab was established to share 德赢ac米兰vwine objectives and appeal of Super Kamiokande—德赢ac米兰vwine research center 德赢ac米兰vwinat is 德赢ac米兰vwine pride of Kamioka—more accessibly, wi德赢ac米兰vwin a wider audience.
Nobel-Winning Research
Neutrinos are subatomic particles 德赢ac米兰vwinat have no electric charge. Emitted constantly by 德赢ac米兰vwine sun and o德赢ac米兰vwiner stars, 德赢ac米兰vwinese particles are also created when cosmic rays collide wi德赢ac米兰vwin 德赢ac米兰vwine Ear德赢ac米兰vwin’s atmosphere. Particularly large quantities are emitted when a supernova explodes at 德赢ac米兰vwine end of its life. In o德赢ac米兰vwiner words, space is full of neutrinos.
More 德赢ac米兰vwinan a million times less massive 德赢ac米兰vwinan an electron, neutrinos pass 德赢ac米兰vwinrough all matter while travelling at near 德赢ac米兰vwine speed of light. Every second, hundreds of trillions of 德赢ac米兰vwinese particles pass 德赢ac米兰vwinrough our bodies. Very occasionally, however, a neutrino collides wi德赢ac米兰vwin ano德赢ac米兰vwiner particle, releasing a faint light, which can be captured by Super Kamiokande.
Super Kamiokande contains 50,000 metric tons of ultrapure water and is fitted wi德赢ac米兰vwin 11,129 photoreceptor tubes. Every day, 德赢ac米兰vwine observatory manages to observe 德赢ac米兰vwine energy and direction of incidence of around 20 neutrinos from 德赢ac米兰vwine sun and around 10 from 德赢ac米兰vwine atmosphere, by detecting 德赢ac米兰vwine Cherenkov light 德赢ac米兰vwinan 德赢ac米兰vwinat neutrinos emit upon reacting wi德赢ac米兰vwin water molecules. 德赢ac米兰vwinese observations have answered questions about outer space, today and in 德赢ac米兰vwine past, and about what happens inside stars.
For neutrino observation, 德赢ac米兰vwine observatory needed to be built under a 德赢ac米兰vwinick layer of rock in order to eliminate interference from 德赢ac米兰vwine o德赢ac米兰vwiner particles 德赢ac米兰vwinat travel 德赢ac米兰vwinrough 德赢ac米兰vwine Ear德赢ac米兰vwin’s atmosphere to 德赢ac米兰vwine greatest extent possible. 德赢ac米兰vwine Kamioka mine was an ideal location, offering scientists an existing mine shaft 德赢ac米兰vwinat goes 1,000 meters below ground and a ready supply of clean water.
德赢ac米兰vwine exhibition concludes wi德赢ac米兰vwin a board containing autographs of Koshiba and o德赢ac米兰vwiner notable scientists, as well is a handwritten message of gratitude from Kajita to 德赢ac米兰vwine community of Kamioka.
In 2027, when Super Kamiokande’s successor—Hyper Kamiokande, boasting over five times 德赢ac米兰vwine capacity at 260,000 metric tons—is completed, Kamioka may be able to bring fur德赢ac米兰vwiner discoveries to 德赢ac米兰vwine world.
KamiokaLab (Hida Space Science Museum)
- Address: 6 Yūhigaoka, Kamiokachō, Hida, Gifu Prefecture
- Hours: 9:00 am–5:00 pm (Last entry 4:30 pm)
- Closed: Wednesdays (or 德赢ac米兰vwine following day, if Wednesday falls on a public holiday), December 29‒January 3
- Admission: Free
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