Closing in on the Elusive Neutrino

Neutrino is an elusive subatomic particle that passes effortlessly through normal matter.

Researchers from the U.S. and Germany say they can use a new technique to track and record a natural occurrence called beta decay.

Once fully scaled up, Project 8 could help reveal how neutrinos influenced the evolution of the universe.

Project 8 tracked 3,770 tritium beta decay events over an 82-day trial window in a sample cell the size of a single pea.

The team registered zero false signals or background events that could be confused for the real thing.

A subset of the full team is now working on the next step: a system that will produce, cool and trap individual atoms of Tritium .

Project 8 is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science .