Physicists are look to a Victorian gold rush town to crack dark matter mystery. Scientists could be on the verge of a major breakthrough in Western Victoria, and the site of the Stawell Gold Mine could hold the key to the world-first discovery. The Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics (CoEPP) is leading an international search to determine whether the site is suitable to support the detection of dark matter. Preliminary testing has proven positive with the next one to two months critical in the organisation's efforts to conclude if construction of an underground laboratory - the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, is feasible. Visiting Stawell last week, alongside Professor Elisabetta Barberio and Doctor Matteo Volpi for a presentation on dark matter, CoEPP Director, Professor Geoffrey Taylor said the University of Melbourne scientists involved in the study were also part of the discovery of the Higgs boson or Higgs particle in 2012. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/v...crack-dark-matter-mystery-20140520-38m6a.html Great idea and the scientists can supplement their income by doing some detecting on their lunch break. Wonder what else you can use an old gold mine for? (safely and legally )
