Gold mine laboratory searches for dark matter

A gold mine laboratory nestled 5,000 feet below the earth is soon to become an underground campus which could detect dark matter, which has been described as the “mystery meat of existence”.

The new laboratory has turned the gold boom town of Lead, South Dakota, into a scientific hub which could help scientists answer some pretty heavy questions about life, its origins and the universe. Homestake Gold Mine has now officially become an underground campus, and it could become as renowned as SERN or NASA if the discoveries made are successful.

Rick Gaitskell, a scientist with Brown University who has worked alongside dozens of scientists over the past few years to move forward with the Large Underground Xenon experiment – or LUX – the world’s most sensitive dark-matter detector said: “This year, 2012, is going to be a very significant year because we get to turn the ... detector on and know very soon whether we have actually found dark matter or not.”

Dark matter makes up a huge amount of the universe, but the problem in scientific circles, is that we have thus far been unable to see it. Indeed, it has very elusive and unusual properties, which is why scientists have had such as hard time detecting it.

However, scientists hope the lab buried 4,850 feet beneath the earth’s surface will change that. The mine was opened during the Black Hills’ gold rush in 1876 and outlasted many counterparts. Indeed, up until the late 1990’s there were still around 1,000 people employed at the mine, but as the value of gold dropped, it became clear that the mine’s days were numbered, and it closed for good in 2003.

Scientists seized on the opportunity to use the mine because dark matter is too sensitive to detect in normal laboratories. However, laboratories so far underground would be shielded from cosmic radiation, and the LUX detector is submerged in water, further insulating it.

After many years, Mr Gaitskell believes they are ready for experimentation, with the first tests due to commence this year.

Posted by Ben Evans