Re: ATM the physics of glass

[Aart Olsen <aolsen@prairienet.org>]

Off topic but interesting and vaguely telescopic: a month ago the
Japanese Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector was destroyed because of
glass failure.  This is the 50,000 ton tank of purified water surrounded
by 11,000 large photomultiplier tubes, in a deep mine, that detects
Cerenkov radiation caused by the (infrequent) interaction between
neutrinos and the earth's atmosphere.  It's the experiment that recently
discovered the neutrino mass.  Technicians emptied this giant tank so
that they could replace some failed PMT tubes, and when they refilled it
and the tank had reached the 70% level one of the tubes at the bottom
imploded.  The shock wave caused every other tube that was covered by
the water also to implode, over 7,000 tubes overall.  The event lasted
about 30 seconds and must have been amazing.  These PMTs cost $3000
each, so consider yourself lucky that you lost only a table top!

Ron Forrester wrote:

> Last night, 3am, laying in bed. I hear a very loud crash inside the
> house.
-- 
Aart Olsen
aolsen@prairienet.org