KATRIN (Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment)

The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment (KATRIN) aims to measure the mass of neutrinos, elusive particles that are key to our understanding of the universe. It achieves this by studying tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen. As tritium decays, it emits electrons and neutrinos. KATRIN captures the electrons and analyzes their energies to infer the mass of the emitted neutrinos. Understanding neutrino mass is crucial for theories in particle physics and cosmology, as it influences the universe's formation and the behavior of fundamental particles. KATRIN represents one of the most precise attempts to determine this important property.