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Soudan 1

Soudan 1 is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Soudan 1 rather than just read about it. In short: Soudan 1 was a particle detector located in the Soudan Mine in Northern Minnesota, United States, which operated for a year in 1981–82. It was a 30-ton tracking calorimeter whose primary purpose was to search for proton decay.

Soudan 1 — main illustration
Soudan 1 — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Soudan 1 belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Soudan 1 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Soudan 1 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Soudan 1 was a particle detector located in the Soudan Mine in Northern Minnesota, United States, which operated for a year in 1981–82. It was a 30-ton tracking calorimeter whose primary purpose was to search for proton decay. It set a lower limit on the lifetime of the proton of 1.6×1030 years as well as upper limits on the density of magnetic monopoles. It also served as a prototype for the following Soudan 2 and MINOS experiments.

Design and operation Soudan 1 was installed 590 meters below the surface and brought into routine operation in August 1981 by high-energy physics research groups from the University of Minnesota and Argonne National Laboratory. The detector was a 3×3×2m3 block of iron oxide-loaded concrete instrumented with 3456 gas proportional tubes. It was surrounded on five sides by a veto shield of solid scintillator, which was completed in October 1981. This allowed events which might otherwise have looked like proton decay, but were actually caused by cosmic rays, to be discarded. It had a total running time of 0.97 years.

See also Particle physics Proton decay

References

Illustrations

Soudan 1: Tom Fields of Argonne National Lab (standing, left), Don Perkins of Oxford University (standing, center), and Marvin Marshak of Univ of Minnesota (bending, center) next to the Soudan 1 proton decay experiment in the Soudan Mine, Minnesota.
Tom Fields of Argonne National Lab (standing, left), Don Perkins of Oxford University (standing, center), and Marvin Marshak of Univ of Minnesota (bending, center) next to the Soudan 1 proton decay experiment in the Soudan Mine, Minnesota.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Soudan 1

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Soudan 1 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Soudan 1 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Soudan 1 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Soudan 1

In research
Soudan 1 appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Soudan 1 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Soudan 1 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Particle experiments, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Soudan 1 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Soudan 1 in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Soudan 1 means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Soudan 1 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Soudan 1 in simple terms?

Soudan 1 was a particle detector located in the Soudan Mine in Northern Minnesota, United States, which operated for a year in 1981–82. It was a 30-ton tracking calorimeter whose primary purpose was to search for proton decay.

Why does Soudan 1 matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Soudan 1?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Soudan 1.

Tags

  • Particle experiments

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