Deep underground science at Boulby Mine – the search for dark matter and beyond...
Speaker: Sean Paling

Dr Sean Paling

• Monday 24 June 2013, 7.00PM to 8:15pm
• Free admission
  Booking required, see below for tickets
• Memorial Hall, St Peter's School, YO30 6AB (view map)

Event details

Astronomers are convinced there is much more out in space than meets the eye.  As well as the stars & galaxies we can see on a clear night, observations suggest there is much more matter out there that we cannot see.  This is known as 'DARK MATTER' - the missing mass in the universe - and the race is on to find out exactly what it is. 

For more than a decade UK astrophysicists have been operating experiments in a dedicated 'low background' facility, 1100m below ground at Boulby potash mine in the North East of England. The Boulby scientists are trying to be the first to prove (or disprove) the favoured theory that Dark Matter is particles, all around us, known as 'WIMPs'. 

The search for Dark Matter at Boulby continues - in the meantime the range of science areas looking for the special properties of a facility like Boulby is growing, with projects ranging from the study of clouds and climate, to Carbon Capture and Storage and life in extreme environments. This talk will give an overview of the Boulby Deep Underground Science Facility, the Dark Matter search experiments hosted and the new areas of deep underground science underway or emerging. The talk is open to all - no prior expertise in astrophysics or deep underground science is required...

Tickets

Admission is free, but tickets are required. Light refreshments provided. To reserve tickets please email Lucy Carter: events@st-peters.york.sch.uk or phone 01904 527300