Super-Kamiokande is back from the dead. Five years ago, the University of Tokyo’s $100 million subatomic particle observatory suffered a catastrophe. As the 12.5 million-gallon cylinder was being filled with water, one of its glass photomultiplier tubes shattered. The resulting shock wave, amplified by the high atmospheric pressure, destroyed 6,000 adjacent tubes (used to detect light emitted when particles called neutrinos collide with water molecules). “It was a complete disaster,” says UC Irvine physicist Hank Sobel, who called the facility a “giant crystal cathedral” eight years ago in Wired (“The Odyssey,” issue 6.11).

Before the breakdown, Super-K made head-lines by proving that neutrinos have actual mass. After the accident, many thought it was washed up. But repairs were completed in April, and the tank should be refilled by June. To prevent another disaster, the tubes are now protected by shrouds of fiberglass and Plexiglas. When research resumes, scientists hope to observe the decay of protons and examine how and why neutrinos morph among three "flavors." Sweet.

- Brad Stone

Neutrinos by the Numbers

Existence of neutrinos first theorized: 1930

Neutrinos first detected: 1956

Cost of a neutrino detector: $19 million to $100 million

Number of detectors in operation: 8

Estimated number of neutrinos detected: 725,000

Rate at which solar neutrinos reach Earth: 60 billion per square centimeter per second

Inside Super-Kakiokande

START

Cathedral Reborn

Requiem for a Meme

Choose Your Own Adventure Returns

Free-Range Sushi

Now Boarding, Fast

18 Days of Reckless Computing

Control Freak

Jargon Watch

The Worst: Stupid Engineering Mistakes

Now You'll See Everything

Prepare for Liftoff

Fired-Up Fashions

ping

Live in It and Rotate

Taking the Cow Out of Kisses

Get High With the Band

I’ll Pay You Back, I Promise

Cipro Won't Save You

Discomforts of Home

A Sea Is Born

Sports, Illustrated

Wired | Tired | Expired