India-based Neutrino Observatory
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They’re trying to build a telescope
If a telescope like the TMT and a big physics experiment like the INO are being stalled for failing to account for the interests and sensibilities of the people already living at or near their planned sites, what should scientists do when they set out to plan for the next big observatory or similar installation… Continue reading
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On resource constraints and merit
In the face of complaints about how so few women have been awarded this year’s Swarnajayanti Fellowships in India, some scientists pushed back asking which of the male laureates who had been selected should have been left out instead. This is a version of the merit argument commonly applied to demands for reservation and quota in higher… Continue reading
Big Science, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Science and Technology, India-based Neutrino Observatory, ISRO, Jadugoda, jugaad, let teachers teach, NASA, particle physics, R&D funding, resource constraint, Sabine Hossenfelder, Sean Carroll, Superconducting Super Collider, Swarnajayanti Fellowships, transparency, Vannevar Bush -
Playing the devil’s advocate on Starlink
After SpaceX began to launch its Starlink satellite constellation to facilitate global internet coverage, astronomers began complaining that the satellites are likely to interfere with stargazing schemes, especially those of large, sensitive telescopes. Spaceflight stakeholders also began to worry, especially after SpaceX’s announcement that the Starlink constellation is in fact the precursor to a mega-constellation… Continue reading
Challakere science city, Elon Musk, environmentalism, India-based Neutrino Observatory, ISRO, Kulasekarapattinam, low-cost internet, Mauna Kea, mega-constellation, non-rivalry, Outer Space Treaty, satellite constellation, space-based internet, SpaceX, Starlink, Sterlite, Thirty Meter Telescope, Thoothukudi -
On the need for the India-based Neutrino Observatory
“I bet @1amnerd disagrees with this” was how Kapil Subramanian’s piece in The Hindu today was pointed out to me on Twitter. Titled ‘India must look beyond neutrinos’, the piece examines if India should be a “global leader in science” and if investing in a neutrino detector is the way to do it. A few… Continue reading
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Construction has started on two of the world’s grandest neutrino observatories
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory happened on January 10. This means construction on Asia’s two biggest neutrino experiments will have started in the span of a week, after the India-based Neutrino Observatory was given the go-ahead by the government on January 5. Where the INO uses a device called the iron… Continue reading
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Vaiko has a problem with the unmanned, fully automated neutrino observatory
Imagine a vast research facility situated below a hill – fully underground – hosting a massive particle detector made up of the world’s largest electromagnet and some 30,000 metal plates. Embracing this device is a magnetic field 35,000 times as strong as Earth’s, not to mention more than three million electronic channels carrying signals to and from computers monitoring… Continue reading
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Cabinet approves India-based Neutrino Observatory
On Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office gave the go ahead for the India-based Neutrino Observatory, an underground physics experiment that will study particles called atmospheric neutrinos. The project is based out of Theni in Tamil Nadu, and the Tamil Nadu State Government is providing the infrastructural support. The observatory is expected to cost Rs 1,500… Continue reading
About Me
I’m a science editor and writer in India, interested in high-energy and condensed-matter physics, research misconduct, pseudoscience, science’s relationship with society, epic fantasy, open source/access/knowledge systems, H.R. Giger’s art, Goundamani’s comedy, Factorio, and most things that require a lot of time to get the hang of.