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Neutrinos are subatomic particles that are very small, neutral, and have almost no mass. They are called "ghost particles" because they rarely interact with other matter.
But recently, a cosmic neutrino plunged into the Mediterranean Sea with an energy that blows all other neutrinos out of the water.
With some 220 million billion electron volts, this particle was around 20 times as energetic as the highest seen before.
It was seen thanks to the partially built Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope located at the bottom of the sea.
The neutrino detectors are three-dimensional arrays of light sensor modules or optical modules distributed over large volumes of the transparent water. The optical modules register the faint Cherenkov light from charged particles induced by neutrino interactions in the seawater.
The neutrino's interaction with matter spawns charged particles such as muons. As these careen through the water, that is what the detectors pick up on. They can reveal the particle's path and energy based on brightness.
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