EDITORIAL PAGE Secrets of the sun in an Inco mine? of neutrinos

Neutrinos? They have nothing to do, it should be immediately said, with mining. Neutrinos are in fact particles produced in the fusion furnace inside the sun. A group of scientists from three countries (the United States, ** Canada, Britain) plan to set up a special laboratory at about the 8,600-ft level in the Creighton mine from which to conduct a major study of these **

** elusive particles. **

Why the Creighton shaft? Because as one of the deepest continuous mine

shafts in the western hemisphere, the selected area for the proposed ** laboratory would be relatively free of radioactive interference, which would

** prevent accurate measurements of the neutrinos. **

We quote one of the researchers, George Ewan, a physics professor at ** Queen’s University: “Deep inside the Creighton shaft where cosmic rays cannot penetrate, a large group of light sensors will look for tiny flashes of light emitted as the neutrinos react or are scattered in a large tank of purified

** heavy water.” **

We are continually astonished by the restless and relentless curiosity of science, which may sometimes seem to be pursuing ends entirely unrelated to

** the ordinary circumstances of human existence. **

In the Creighton mine project, though, there are high purposes if not immediate practical consequences. The research team studying neutrinos expects to learn much about the source of the sun’s energy, “and provide further ** understanding of the physical processes governing the evolution of stars as

** well as the fundamental properties of matter.” **

These are large considerations. The Inco mine is going to serve an **

** unusual, possibly cosmic, purpose. **