Physicists and cosmologists do not tend to seek justification for their expensive experiments by flagging up the great practical benefits that might result. Investigations into the origins and nature of the universe are, quite rightly, considered important enough on their own. Yet blue-sky research often has unexpected outcomes, and they are worth celebrating. If nothing else, they can help bridge the conceptual gap between exotica such as neutrinos and dark matter, and more mundane concerns.rnThere are plenty of examples to choose from. Researchers at the Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) experiment deep inside an old mine in Soudan, Minnesota, recently announced that their detector, which is designed to look for neutrinos, those most elusive of subatomic particles, could also help with weather forecasting. It turns out that the number of particles known as muons picked up by the detector varies according to conditions in the upper atmosphere, which affect the weather lower down.
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