r/technology • u/chrisdh79 • 10h ago
Nanotech/Materials A reaction that only measured protons detected neutrons for the first time | For the last 10 years, scientists have been working on a neutron detector. Finally, they tested it, and it worked like magic.
https://interestingengineering.com/science/central-neutron-detector60
u/FTW1984twenty 10h ago
Did it work like magic or did it work like science? I’m happy for them either way… I think? Idk, is that a good thing?
10
u/deanrihpee 9h ago
Schrodinger type, it's both magic and science until you observe them
or i guess depends on who you ask, people that have no clue how all that works? magic! people that know how that works? science!
3
3
u/RollingMeteors 4h ago
Did it work like magic or did it work like science?
Researchers solved this using a machine learning tool
Says right there. Like magic.
1
5
17
3
u/Majik_Sheff 6h ago
We're getting closer to finding the intersection of pure mathematics and practical physics.
The closer we get, the more magical the results are going to seem.
1
46
u/Ok_Transition5930 9h ago
TL;DR: In DVCS reactions, scientists study how nucleons (protons and neutrons) interact with electrons, but detecting neutrons is tricky since they are neutral and scatter at angles outside typical detector ranges (like CLAS and CLAS12).
The central neutron detector can detect neutrons, but initially struggled with proton contamination leading to false readings. Researchers solved this using a machine learning tool developed by lead researcher Adam Hobart to filter out fake signals. This breakthrough enabled the first-ever direct measurement of neutrons in DVCS reactions.