Related: It’s Official: ‘Ghost Particle’ That Smashed Into Earth Breaks Records<\/a><\/p>\n So, physicists at MIT and the University of Texas at Arlington have outlined a concept for a neutrino<\/a> laser that could help wrangle the wayward particles into a concentrated beam for easier analysis.<\/p>\n To make one, you’d theoretically need to cool a cloud of rubidium-83 atoms to a temperature colder than interstellar space to make them act like one quantum entity \u2013 a state of matter<\/a> known as a Bose-Einstein Condensate<\/a> (BEC).<\/p>\n Rubidium-83 is radioactive, producing neutrinos when the atoms decay. Normally, the atoms would decay somewhat randomly, spewing neutrinos in all directions at unpredictable times. If they’re in a BEC state, however, their behavior should sync up, including their decay.<\/p>\n It bears at least a passing resemblance to a conventional laser, which produces and combs photons into a neat line. The end result should be a bright beam of neutrinos pointed in a single direction, within minutes of reaching the right temperature.<\/p>\n Catching a neutrino in the act is a numbers game, and our current best experiments involve watching gigantic volumes<\/a> of water or ice, in environments with little interference, and waiting for the rare instance when one smacks into a nucleus within sight<\/a>. Knowing where neutrinos will be, within a much smaller volume, helps rig that game in our favor.<\/p>\n Being able to detect and study neutrinos more reliably could potentially help us solve some major mysteries of physics, including what dark matter<\/a> is and why antimatter<\/a> didn’t wipe out the Universe<\/a> as we know it.<\/p>\n Neutrinos’ tendency to not interact with matter could also be put to good use for communications that can be beamed right through objects, even underground.<\/p>\n Of course, the first step would be to check if it’s possible to actually build a neutrino laser.<\/p>\n “If it turns out that we can show it in the lab, then people can think about: Can we use this as a neutrino detector? Or a new form of communication?” says<\/a> Joseph Formaggio, physicist at MIT. “That’s when the fun really starts.”<\/p>\n![\"Physicists](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/neutrino-laser-642x912.png\")
An artist’s impression of rubidium-83 atoms (blue) decaying to produce neutrinos (orange), in a gaseous state (top) and a Bose-Einstein Condensate state (bottom). (APS\/Alan Stonebraker<\/a>)<\/p>\n