We can now use the tiny particles coming off radioactive rocks to take a 3D 'X-ray' of what's happening deep inside the Earth.
April 2, 2026
Original Paper
Potassium-40 geoneutrinos detection and the Earth's large-scale structures imaging by directional geoneutrino detection
arXiv · 2604.00808
The Takeaway
Neutrinos pass through almost everything, making them the perfect tool for seeing into the planet's core where no drill can reach. By tracking specific neutrinos from potassium-40, scientists can map out hidden large-scale structures within the Earth's mantle and core for the first time.
From the abstract
Geoneutrinos, the electron (anti)neutrinos generated in decays or decay chains of the radioactive elements within the Earth, primarily K-40, U-238, and Th-232, serve as a unique probe for the inner chemical composition of the Earth. A directional geoneutrino detection method with a Cherenkov liquid scintillator is investigated in this work. The neutrino-electron elastic scattering in the scintillator is employed to detect geoneutrinos. The direction reconstruction resolution for neutrinos is stu