WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.225 --> 00:00:03.045 So I'm a math student from Dominican University 2 00:00:03.345 --> 00:00:06.445 and I came to Chichén Itzá, Mexico 3 00:00:06.955 --> 00:00:10.845 with a team from Dominican University and other universities 4 00:00:11.105 --> 00:00:14.565 and worked with local archeologists to put a 5 00:00:15.085 --> 00:00:18.245 particle detector inside the El Castillo pyramid through 6 00:00:18.795 --> 00:00:21.165 some tunnels that archeologists dug out 7 00:00:21.255 --> 00:00:22.445 about a hundred years ago. 8 00:00:22.705 --> 00:00:25.405 And the point of this particle detector is 9 00:00:25.505 --> 00:00:29.165 to basically make an x-ray of the inside of the pyramid 10 00:00:29.355 --> 00:00:31.605 that they haven't been able to dig yet 11 00:00:31.825 --> 00:00:33.765 and potentially find new rooms 12 00:00:33.865 --> 00:00:36.605 or little cavities that we don't know about yet. 13 00:00:37.245 --> 00:00:40.845 I like to see our detector actually doing 14 00:00:40.845 --> 00:00:41.925 what it's supposed to do. 15 00:00:42.065 --> 00:00:45.725 You know, like we will do some testings, Dominican, 16 00:00:46.305 --> 00:00:48.085 you know, put it in a room 17 00:00:48.305 --> 00:00:50.685 and then leave them running for one hour, two hours 18 00:00:50.865 --> 00:00:52.085 and then changing something. 19 00:00:52.305 --> 00:00:54.445 But it was never like, you know, on site 20 00:00:54.865 --> 00:00:58.405 and just seeing the detector there inside the pyramid, 21 00:00:58.575 --> 00:01:01.805 being able to see in the computer when a muon hits earth 22 00:01:02.005 --> 00:01:04.085 detector and knowing that it works 23 00:01:04.185 --> 00:01:07.045 and we're gonna get pretty, pretty good data to play with. 24 00:01:07.045 --> 00:01:09.285 And in the future, uh, make the big detector 25 00:01:09.425 --> 00:01:10.805 and think that's my favorite part. 26 00:01:11.105 --> 00:01:13.765 We know that there is a substructure under the pyramid. 27 00:01:13.905 --> 00:01:16.205 The archeologists have known that since the 1930s, 28 00:01:16.505 --> 00:01:17.725 but you can't excavate 29 00:01:17.915 --> 00:01:20.125 because you can't damage the exterior pyramid. 30 00:01:20.545 --> 00:01:22.965 So what we can do is move our detector around 31 00:01:22.985 --> 00:01:24.925 and look at different directions to see what 32 00:01:24.925 --> 00:01:26.205 that substructure looks like. 33 00:01:27.025 --> 00:01:29.285 Is there maybe a second substructure? 34 00:01:29.425 --> 00:01:30.925 So a third structure hidden even 35 00:01:30.925 --> 00:01:32.045 further underneath the pyramid. 36 00:01:32.745 --> 00:01:35.365 Are there voids that they don't know about? 37 00:01:35.365 --> 00:01:38.685 Things like that. And the idea is pretty straightforward. 38 00:01:38.715 --> 00:01:40.205 It's almost like using an x-ray. 39 00:01:40.465 --> 00:01:42.525 You put the detector inside the pyramid, 40 00:01:43.025 --> 00:01:44.245 and when it's inside the pyramid, 41 00:01:44.505 --> 00:01:47.325 the cosmic race start at the top of the atmosphere, pass 42 00:01:47.325 --> 00:01:48.805 through the pyramid, hit the detector, 43 00:01:49.585 --> 00:01:52.325 and the thicker the rock, the fewer muons you see. 44 00:01:52.545 --> 00:01:55.485 So by looking in each direction, we can see from the number 45 00:01:55.485 --> 00:01:58.005 of muons how thick the rock is in each direction 46 00:01:58.465 --> 00:02:00.645 by knowing the exterior dimensions of the pyramid. 47 00:02:00.835 --> 00:02:03.925 Well, if I know that I expect 20 meters 48 00:02:03.925 --> 00:02:05.085 of rock in this one section 49 00:02:05.145 --> 00:02:06.245 and I see 15, 50 00:02:06.635 --> 00:02:08.765 that probably means there's five meters of empty space. 51 00:02:09.315 --> 00:02:13.445 This project was funded initially by a alumni grant 52 00:02:13.595 --> 00:02:15.645 through Dominican University to do some 53 00:02:15.645 --> 00:02:17.005 of the pre grant work. 54 00:02:17.305 --> 00:02:19.205 And then we got the National Science Foundation 55 00:02:19.205 --> 00:02:20.765 grant on our team. 56 00:02:20.865 --> 00:02:25.205 We have Dominican University, Chicago State University, Ina, 57 00:02:25.205 --> 00:02:27.685 which is our archeological colleagues here on site, 58 00:02:28.175 --> 00:02:29.445 University of Mexico. 59 00:02:30.185 --> 00:02:32.885 So it's a, a broad coalition of different 60 00:02:33.405 --> 00:02:34.445 scientists in different fields. 61 00:02:34.905 --> 00:02:37.885 My favorite part about this trip is, the fact 62 00:02:37.885 --> 00:02:40.765 that I can come here and see all the old architecture 63 00:02:40.785 --> 00:02:42.325 and history behind everything 64 00:02:42.665 --> 00:02:44.925 and use the science that I know 65 00:02:44.925 --> 00:02:48.045 and that I enjoy to help the archeologists 66 00:02:48.105 --> 00:02:49.645 and the people that have been working here 67 00:02:49.945 --> 00:02:53.005 and contribute in my own way to help them, you know, 68 00:02:53.005 --> 00:02:54.685 learn something or figure something out.