One of the looming mysteries of the universe has been solved with a 167-ton vat of baby oil. Or maybe not. The answer, scientists hope, will lead them to solving even bigger questions, such as what the universe is made of, how it began, and how it will end.
Physicists consider neutrinos among the most mysterious of the basic ingredients of the universe.
They do not make up part of ordinary matter. Instead, they fly around at the speed of light, zipping through the Earth like ghosts passing through walls. The researchers studied the light patterns to establish the neutrino's mass . All but one member of the 40-physicist team say the light flashes they recorded show convincing evidence that neutrinos have mass. But the disagreement has kept the neutrino-mass question unsettled.