China has built the world's deepest underground laboratory, located 2,400 meters below the surface. Scientists use it to study the invisible substance dark matter.
Durf (Deep Underground and Ultralow Radiation Background Facility for Frontier Physics Experiments), located under Jinping Mountain in Liangshan Yi Province, was designed to facilitate the study of diverse aspects of physics.
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It reportedly offers the world's cleanest space for particle physics, nuclear astrophysics and life sciences research. This is due to its depth, which helps block most of the cosmic rays that usually interfere with the observation of these phenomena.
With a total capacity of 330,000 cubic meters, Durf is also the largest underground laboratory in the world, almost twice the size of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy.
According to the website Oddity Central, the plan is now for the site to become a reference for studies of dark matter, which makes up around 27% of our entire universe, and for scientists from all over the world to want to work there.
The entire Milky Way weighs the equivalent of 1.5 trillion suns. Understand:
Astronomers used the NASA (US space agency) Hubble telescope and the ESA (European Space Agency) Gaia telescope to estimate the total weight of the Milky Way. According to scientists' calculations, the entire galaxy has the weight equivalent to 1.5 trillion suns. Also read: Learn how to help choose the names of Jupiter's new moons
Contrary to what most people imagine, planets and stars add little to this weight. Also read: NASA captures images of shock waves from supersonic aircraft for the first time
The socalled dark matter is responsible for almost all of the estimated weight of the Milky Way. Also read: VCheck out the curiosities about the NASA probe that spent 15 years on Mars
Dark matter is prevalent throughout the universe, but it is invisible and can be measured by its influence on other bodies. Also read: Space tourism to Mars will cost R$1.8 million, says Elon Musk
The Milky Way is not considered small by scientists. The smallest galaxies weigh less than about a trillion suns and the largest can weigh up to 30 trillion suns. Also read: The satellite photographs the moon next to Earth as you have never seen it before