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Introduction of exhibits

Display a page for printingPublication date:2019年3月18日更新

Experience the inside of Super-Kamiokande with the Wonder Ship

Wondership image

When you enter the facility, you will see a huge half cylinder shaped screen. This screen replicates the inside of the Super-Kamiokande by using full computer graphics. A large panorama screen shows a scene of a huge tank filled with pure water for experiments and how photo sensors react and change colors when neutrinos enter the tank. Since entry to the actual Super-Kamiokande is restricted, you can take a commemorative photo in front of the screen to give the appearance that you are actually standing inside. 

Showcase of the technical skills which made Super-Kamiokande

Photomultiplier tube image

It took long time to complete Super-Kamiokande.  It was in what was originally a mine from the eighth century.  The hard bedrock and abundant ground water make it an ideal location for a research facility. Because it is deep underground, we utilized technology available from Japanese companies to build our facility. Guests can see the exact same photo sensors from Hamamatsu Photonics in Shizuoka, installed using the exact same materials and techniques found in the Super-Kamiokande.

Let’s have fun in the Micro World

 

Neutrinos are one of the subatomic particles which are much smaller and lighter than atoms.  At this booth, guests can go inside of Micro World and challenge a game to make substances by mixing or connecting atoms. You can experiment with making substances such as water and salt by combining various atoms you see on the screen.

Neutrino is a ghost?

 

At this display, you will learn about certain characteristics of neutrinos. Neutrinos can pass through massive objects without interacting with them. We demonstrate it with a mysterious ball coaster and a black wall. Neutrinos are very difficult to observe since they are subatomic with strange properties. In fact, hundreds of trillions of neutrinos pass through your body like a ghost every second! You will see here that researchers at the Super-Kamiokande try to utilize large amounts of pure water to catch neutrinos.

Learn about some characteristics of neutrinos with a shooting game

 

Neutrinos pass through everything, but rarely hit water molecules. This is a game where the player shoots a neutrino (a ball), towards an atomic nucleus (a hole on the game board). When you hit the target, light flashes radially much like the Cherenkov lights in the Super-Kamiokande. By having fun with this game, guests learn to observe the light emitted by neutrinos as they hit the water.

Catch transforming neutrinos 

 

There are many different kinds of neutrinos.  Sometimes they transform as they travel through space to the earth.  Dr. Kajita received the Nobel Prize in Physics for finding this phenomenon, called “Neutrino Oscillation”. In this game, many different kinds of neutrinos fly around from space, including “tau neutrinos”. The goal of this game is to touch only the tau neutrinos as quickly as possible.  Like real neutrinos, some may disappear or transform to different kinds, so take care not to touch the wrong neutrino because points will be deducted!

Kamioka Mine is the world’s leading space research facility.

Image of KAGRA model

There are many space research facilities in Kamioka and known as world’s most advanced base for space research.  If you look at models of the Kamioka Mine displayed, you can see the Super-Kamiokande, KamLAND, XMASS, KAGRA, and other facilities. You will also find how deep the Super-Kamiokande is located and see the inside structure of KAGRA where gravitational wave are captured.

Take picture with the Nobel Prize winning scientists.

Image of life size panel of Dr. Kajita

After looking around the displays on neutrinos, you can take a picture as you pretend to shake hands with a lifelike picture of Dr. Kajita. In this section, you can pretend to be a real researcher working at Super-Kamiokande and monitor neutrinos in real time. You can also look for your birthday neutrino from 366 days of data. There is a question box available where you can ask scientists your questions about Kamioka space research.

You can connect with scientists and other people at MUSUBI-BA

 

Before you exit, there is a workshop space called MUSUBI-BA. There is always a science communicator who sometimes gives lectures and answers visitor’s questions. Also, you can see picture-story show and other resources about neutrinos. You may deepen your knowledge and exchange views. Please make good use of this space to connect the science to the people behind it and enjoy a face to face experience with real scientists.


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