PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT

SCIENTISTS GO TO EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS TO EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF RADICAL PHENOMENA IN THE MOST EXTREME LABS ON EARTH

- KATHERINE NIGHTINGALE

THE DEEPEST (AND CLEANEST)

SNOLAB, ONTARIO, CANADA

Even a Bond villain might consider SNOLAB too remote for an underground lair. Earth's deepest and cleanest lab is two kilometres underground, part of a nickel and copper mine in Ontario, Canada.

The deep layer of rock between the 5,000m² lab and the Earth's surface shields it from the cosmic radiation that would otherwise interfere with its sensitive experiments. The lab searches for solar neutrinos (extremely small subatomic particles produced by the Sun) and dark matter, the estimated 27 per cent of matter in the Universe which remains a mystery to us. But situating a sparkling clean lab in a mine comes with its downsides. As well as a 1.5km walk from the lift to the lab, researchers and support staff must undergo a lengthy cleaning process involving showers, hosed-down boots and lab-laundered clothes to make sure that no mine dirt or particles make it into the facility.

The lab also contains the world's deepest underground flushing toilet.

THE LOUDEST

NASA REVERBERANT ACOUSTIC TEST FACILITY, OHIO, USA

Launching rockets is a noisy business, and scientists need to make sure that payloads can withstand the extremely loud sounds involved in take-off and ascent into space.

NASA's Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility carries out part of a suite of testing that complex and sensitive hardware must undergo before being deemed clear for take-off, by submitting them to noises of up to an eardrum-bursting 163 decibels.