These items are made of very pure lead, necessary for space research

Nov 30, 2013 09:21 GMT  ·  By

An interesting argument is going on in the scientific community today, where particle physicists and underwater archaeologists are at odds with each other over the use of lead in ancient Roman ingots for various scientific investigations related to the search for dark matter. 

For example, the Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) neutrino detector in Italy uses lead collected from the wreck of a 2,000-year-old ship, which sunk while transporting ingots to the Roman Empire. This material has been in the water for a long time, and has been cleared of the radioactive plutonium isotope Pb-210, SpaceRef explains.

Current lead manufacturing techniques cannot remove the isotope, meaning that the material cannot be used as shield for neutrino and dark matter detectors. The question then becomes, should we sacrifice archaeological knowledge for the chance to learn more about the Universe and where it came from?

Underwater archaeologists rightfully claim that the use of lead ingots for practical applications leads to the destruction of underwater cultural heritage. On the other hand, this material helps astrophysicists gain new insight into the nature of dark matter, a type of matter believed to account for a quarter of the Universe's mass-energy budget.

Where do you stand on this issue? Which side of the argument would you like to see win? Please leave your comments below.