Why do we exist? A new Fermilab experiment asks neutrinos for the answer

There’s a weird discrepancy in the field of particle physics: basically, it’s unclear why we all exist. All the matter and antimatter particles produced during the Big Bang should have annihilated one another, according to Sam Zeller, a physicist at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois. But our presence on Earth – as well as the presence of Earth, and everything else – is evidence that didn’t happen. In an attempt to solve this mystery, Fermilab is conducting a new flagship experiment called the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE. Zeller is the deputy director for part of the project, and she explains why they’re going to start blasting neutrinos from Illinois to South Dakota.]]>