Sanford Lab--First Week of Davis-Bahcall

So it's the end of the first week, and though we're all pretty exhausted from our immersion into particle physics, it's been going really well! The first few days we were given a crash course in theoretical nuclear physics. We were lectured on dark matter, the fundamental forces, neutrinos, and luminosity, among other interesting physics concepts. Several scientists, researchers, and Sanford personnel also talked to us about some of the experiments being performed throughout the Sanford Lab. Throughout the week we toured different labs and participated in various science activities, which included designing our own experiment. However, Friday was by far the coolest day. After hauling ourselves out of bed at five-thirty a.m., we traveled to the Homestake Mine and took the seven-thirty cage four thousand eight-hundred and fifty feet underground. While at the 4850 level, we toured the Ross Shaft and viewed the Majorana clean room (a major project designed to detect neutrino-less double beta decay). We spent the majority of our time setting up and testing our experiment, a series of paddles from FERMILAB designed to detect cosmic rays from space. After several testings, we packed up our area and headed back above ground. Though we've had a good time learning at the Sanford Lab, we're very excited to head off on the next part of our program. We're gonna be roadtrippin'! :)