One thousand meters beneath the Japanese Alps, in a 12-story stainless-steel tank filled with 12.5 million gallons of purified water, 120 researchers proved that neutrinos - the elusive subatomic particles often described as "ghosts" - have mass. Before the Super-Kamiokande experiment began in 1996, a team of physicists equipped with dust rags set sail in a dinghy. As the water level rose, they cleaned the 13,006 photo-multiplier tubes lining the walls. For the next two years, the sparkling 20-inch tubes detected light emitted by neutrinos. Almost as striking as the findings is the tank itself. "It's like a giant crystal cathedral," says physicist Hank Sobel.
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