Why in News?

Russian scientists recently launched one of the world’s largestunderwater neutrino telescopes called Baikal-GVD underwater Lake Baikal.

About Baikal- GVD:

• It is designed to study in detail the elusive fundamental particles called neutrinos and also to possibly determine their sources.
• Other large neutrino detectors in the world:
  • IceCube at the South Pole
  • ANTARES in the Mediterranean Sea.

About Neutrinos:

• The neutrino is also a tiny elementary particle, like protons and electrons, but arenot part of the atom. Such particles also exist in nature.
• It has a very tiny mass and no charge.
• It interacts extremely weakly with other matter particles. Hence, every second trillion of neutrinos falling on us pass unnoticed.
• Source of Nutrinos:
  • Sun- Solar neutrinos
  • Stars:Stellar neutrinos,
  • Cosmic rays coming from beyond the solar system,
  • From the Big Bang from which our Universe originated.
  • They can also be produced in the lab.
• The INO will study atmospheric neutrinos only. Solar neutrinos have much lower energy than the detector can detect.
• Applications of Neutrino Science:
  • Properties of the sun
  • Constituents of the Universe
  • Probing early Universe
  • Medical Imaging, etc
• India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is also envisioned with Tata Institute of Fundamental Researchas the nodal institution in Bodi West Hills (Theni district) of Tamil Nadu.