Then, to test their system's ability to triangulate, the researchers placed four reference detectors on the sixth floor of a building and gave a receiver detector to an individual in the building's basement. Therefore, these are practically synchronized for a while.' Each detector is equipped with a precise local clock - in this case, an oven controlled crystal oscillator - which doesn't drift so widely within a short. 'These detectors are eventually separated from GPS for navigation. 'The receiver detector and the reference detectors are connected to GPS first to synchronize,' Tanaka said. China launches final Beidou satellite to complete GPS-like navigation system A tiny, wobbling muon just shook particle physics to its core Cosmic rays reveal 2,500-year-old subterranean burial in ancient Greek necropolis To move away from cumbersome wires, the researchers came up with a new solution for the time lag using high-precision quartz clocks, synchronizing the reference stations to the receiver with GPS before it was taken underground. To take into account the travel time of the muons between the reference stations and the receiver, the researchers connected the five detectors with wires so they could communicate the time difference between them. Much like GPS triangulates with satellites in the sky, muPS consisted of four surface-level reference stations through which muons would pass before arriving at a receiver station on the ocean floor. This has enabled scientists to harness the constant cosmic downpour to map the interiors of otherwise inaccessible places, such as pyramids, volcanoes and the fiery hearts of nuclear reactors.Ī previous version of MuWNS, called the muometric positioning system (muPS), was created by the researchers to detect seafloor changes caused by tectonic or volcanic activity.

Unlike GPS, which is weaker at higher altitudes and gets scrambled underground, only some muons are stopped by solid objects - which absorb more of them the more solid they are. Similar to electrons in their structure but 207 times as heavy, roughly a million muons zip harmlessly through our bodies at near light speed every night. When cosmic rays - high-energy particles produced by the sun, stellar explosions called supernovas and mysterious sources outside our Milky Way galaxy - smash into Earth's upper atmosphere, they break into showers of particles that eventually decay into muons.

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