Antineutrinos used to tally radioactivity

SENDAI, Japan, July 29 (UPI) -- Researchers are using antineutrinos measured by an instrument in Japan to estimate the heat in the earth's core coming from natural radioactivity.

The results rely on measurements of antineutrinos made at the Kamioka liquid scintillator antineutrino detector, housed in a mine in Japan.

The researchers say their findings might also help to solve some long-standing mysteries about how hot the planet is at its core, and how long it will take to cool, according to an article published in Nature.

"For the first time we can say that neutrinos have a practical interest for other fields of science," says Atsuto Suzuki, director of the Research Center for Neutrino Science at Tohoku University in Japan.

The 87-member team from Japan, the United States, China and France, say about half of the heat inside the Earth comes from the decay of radioactive elements that produce antineutrinos. The rest comes from processes in the planet's core and from heat left over from the Earth's fiery birth 4.5 billion years ago, the study said.