Prelims 2015 · archive
MediumIn the context of modern scientific research, consider the following statements about 'IceCube', a particle detector located at South Pole, which was recently in the news:
- 1.It is the world's largest neutrino detector, encompassing a cubic kilometre of ice.
- 2.It is a powerful telescope to search for dark matter.
- 3.It is buried deep in the ice.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
All three statements are correct. IceCube is the world's largest neutrino observatory. Its main detector is a cubic kilometre of instrumented ice at the South Pole, with sensors buried 1,450–2,450 m deep. It works as a neutrino telescope, and the nature of dark matter is one of the questions it addresses.
- ✓ 1. NSF calls it the world's largest neutrino observatory. Its main detector is a cubic kilometre of instrumented ice at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
- ✓ 2. IceCube works as a neutrino telescope, and its scientists address the nature of dark matter. It hunts for dark matter indirectly, by looking for the neutrinos that dark-matter particles could produce.
- ✓ 3. 86 holes were drilled in the Antarctic ice. The 5,160 optical sensors were lowered on strings to depths of 1,450–2,450 m, where the ice is very dark and highly transparent. The detector is therefore buried deep in the ice.
Remember · IceCube is a cubic-kilometre neutrino telescope at the South Pole, with sensors 1,450–2,450 m deep in the ice. It studies cosmic neutrinos and also searches for dark matter.
Sources
- NSF, University of Wisconsin-Madison Complete Construction of the World's Largest Neutrino Observatory (NSF, 2010) ↗ “5,160 optical sensors are now installed to form the main detector--a cubic kilometer of instrumented ice--of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. … lower them to depths between 1,450 and 2,450 meters. The ice itself at these depths is very dark and optically ultratransparent.”
- IceCube Overview (IceCube Neutrino Observatory, University of Wisconsin-Madison) ↗ · reference work “IceCube collaborators address several big questions in physics, like the nature of dark matter and the properties of the neutrino itself.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2015, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·