Scientists use cosmic rays to create underground GPS

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery, revealing the potential for an underground navigation system using cosmic rays. The research, published in the journal iScience, highlights that showers of particles, formed when cosmic rays collide with Earth's atmosphere, could enable effective underground positioning. The subatomic particles, known as muons, which originate from distant space objects like supernovas or particle collisions with the sun, can penetrate the ground and are deemed harmless. By harnessing these muons, scientists have developed a novel positioning system called the muometric positioning system (muPS), which works underground, indoors, and even underwater. Muon-based navigation holds great potential for various applications where GPS is ineffective, such as mining and deep-sea exploration. The concept draws inspiration from the use of similar particles in ancient Egyptian pyramids for navigation purposes. The muPS system employs four muon-dete...