Science Friday The Nobel winner searching for deep-space neutrinos in Antarctica
Oct 7, 2026
Francis Halzen, physicist and University of Wisconsin–Madison professor, pioneered the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. He discusses using a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice to detect particles from deep space, why the South Pole is ideal, and how IceCube searches for dark matter and probes physics beyond human-made accelerators.
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Neutrinos Open A New Window On The Universe
- Neutrinos offer a new way to observe the universe because they travel in straight beams without electric charge.
- Building a useful detector required a previously unprecedented cubic-kilometer volume and took roughly half a century from idea to completion.
Why IceCube Hides Beneath Antarctic Ice
- IceCube sits a mile beneath Antarctic ice to shield its faint signals from the cosmic-ray barrage at Earth’s surface.
- Looking upward through Earth provides especially strong shielding, letting the South Pole detector view the sky above Madison.
Neutrinos Pass Through Almost Everything
- Neutrinos travel nearly at light speed and pass through walls, Earth, and even the detector itself.
- Because they interact only occasionally, scientists need a massive detector to catch a useful number of them.