light based experiments

Have fun learning about science with these cool light . Enjoy a range of interactive activities that will help you understand light sources, reflections, shadows, and how humans see.

Enjoy our fun light experiments . Make a rainbow and experiment with light, color and heat.

Take a look at these cool science videos related to the topic of light. Learn what scientists know about the sun, see how light bulbs are made and watch a spectacular lightning strike.

Check out our cool range of light related pictures , photos and diagrams.

Find interesting images of optical illusions, the sun, aurora borealis, the visible spectrum, electricity, the human eye, colors and more.

Check out these fun light facts for kids and learn more about sunlight, human eyes, the speed of light, optics, ultraviolet light and infrared light.

Take the challenge of our quizzes related to light science. How much do you know about light properties, processes and uses?

Enjoy our fun lesson plans which include activities related to camouflage and physics. Make use of all our free teaching resources, classroom ideas and fun worksheets while finding activities and information on topics such as light and vision.

Make a kaleidoscope and get some great ideas for a range of fun light and physics science fair projects . Check out our suggested topics and find one you like.

Science Kids ©  |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |  Updated: Oct 9, 2023

• Sign in / Register
• Administration
• Edit profile

The PhET website does not support your browser. We recommend using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

Andrea Knight

Teacher · Learner · Author

Light Experiments

Nothing in the universe travels faster than light. (Rumors born in faculty meetings might be a close second, but light wins.) It’s easy to get kids engaged in the study of light. There are loads of light experiments that spark anticipation and wonder … some even feel like magic to young scientists. Like, 👆 Why does that  perfectly good straw look broken? 

And,  How can we pop a balloon without even touching it?👇

You can also DIY a little laser light show in your classroom with a can of Lysol and a cat toy! (Any aerosol spray will work, but why not kill a few germs at the same time, right?)

For this light experiment, darken the room and spray the Lysol for a few seconds. You should basically see nothing. Now do it again, but this time aim the laser light into the path of the spray. As the beam of light reflects off the moisture in the Lysol, you’ll probably hear,  “Cool!” and  “Can WE try it now?”

TIP: The darker the space, the better the results.

And, if you can get enough laser/aerosol donations, students can work in small teams of 2-4 and all together you can create quite a show!

IDEAS FROM PINTEREST

If you’re a first grade teacher and you’re planning a science unit on the study of light and sound, check out this Pinterest board:  Light and Sound Science . You’ll find so many great ways to support your science instruction with videos, books, integrated projects, and more.

LIGHT EXPERIMENTS

These SCIENCE LESSONS  give children the opportunity to learn how light behaves while learning key vocabulary words like energy , refract , transparent , translucent , and opaque . Each experiment comes with printable recording sheets, picture support, and a science page explaining what they observed.

• Can you flip the fish without flipping the card?
• How can you change the amount of light that can be seen?
• I bet we can pop a balloon without even touching it!
• Whoa … why does that paintbrush look broken?

👉A Fish Out of Water: Refracted light can reverse an image.

👉Let the Light Shine: Is it transparent, translucent, or opaque?

👉Ready, Aim, Pop! A light source can create heat energy.

👉The Broken Straw: Refracted light can split an image.

NONFICTION SCIENCE TEXT

This SCIENCE BOOK ,  What Is Light? , introduces children to the concept of light and how it behaves. They’ll learn about sources of light, how light travels, and how light impacts our daily lives. Key terms such as energy , source , and waves are emphasized in the text.

STUDENT WORKSHEETS

Ready to print and use, these worksheets👇 help build a foundation for understanding key science concepts about light and provide a connection to other subject areas, such as phonics.

KEY VOCABULARY POSTERS

There are some pretty BIG words for some pretty little learners in this science unit, so I put together FULL-COLOR POSTERS  to help children learn, understand, and remember them. Each poster features the key word, a simple graphic, and a kid-friendly definition of the term. The set includes 8 posters for the following key science terms:

• transparent
• translucent

You can preview more about this science unit👉  HERE . It includes materials for teaching first graders the science behind light and sound, as well as how we use both to communicate with others.

CLICK👇TO PREVIEW RESOURCE

LIGHT AND SOUND SCIENCE UNIT

RECOMMENDED BOOK LIST

Check your school or local library for titles to support your science instruction. These are some of the ones I’ve used for read-alouds and to help build my own knowledge base so I could plan richer lessons and activities.

• Shadows by Sharon Coan
• Day Light, Night Light: Where Light Comes From by Franklyn Brantley
• Sending Messages with Light and Sound by Jennifer Boothroyd
• Light Is All Around Us by Wendy Pfeffer

Happy teaching!

MORE SCIENCE POSTS FOR 1ST GRADE

In the Loop

andrea.knight.teacher.author

This interactive isn't designed for smaller screens, try running it on a tablet or computer

Buggy and Buddy

Meaningful Activities for Learning & Creating

January 26, 2016 By Chelsey

Rainbow Science for Kids: Homemade Spectroscope

Make a homemade spectroscope with a few simple materials and explore the spectrum of different light sources. You’ll see all kinds of rainbows ! This science activity for kids makes a great addition to a unit on light or weather and is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day too!

Follow our Science for Kids Pinterest board!

Light experiments are always fun, especially when they involve rainbows!  In this science activity kids will make their own spectroscope- an instrument used to split light into different wavelengths, which we see as different colors of the rainbow. (This post contains affiliate links.)

Be sure to check out our other light experiments for kids:

Exploring Prisms

Rainbow Reflections

Exploring Reflections in Mirrors

How to Make a Homemade Spectroscope

Materials for homemade spectroscope.

• Empty paper towel roll
• Craft knife  and/or scissors
• Blank or old CD
• Small piece of cardboard or cardstock
• Paint (optional)

Making a Homemade Spectroscope

1. If you’ll be painting your paper towel roll, you’ll want to do that first and let it dry. (This step isn’t necessary, but it’s hard for us to pass up an opportunity to paint something!)

2. Use a craft knife (an adult should do this) to cut a thin slit at a 45° angle toward the bottom of the cardboard tube.

3. Directly across from the slit, make a small peephole or viewing hole using your craft knife  (another step for an adult).

4. Trace one end of your paper towel roll onto your small scrap of cardboard or cardstock . Cut it out.

5. Cut a straight slit right across the center of your cardboard circle.

6. Tape the circle to the top of your spectroscope.

7. Insert the CD into your 45° angled slit with the shiny side facing up.

Using the Homemade Spectroscope

Start by taking your spectroscope outside. Point the top slit up at the sky (NOT directly at the sun). Look through the peephole. You will see a rainbow inside!

Now try your spectroscope with other light sources like fluorescent light, neon light and candle light. Compare what you see!

What’s going on?

A CD is a mirrored surface with spiral tracks or pits. These tracks are evenly spaced and diffract light (separating the colors). Because the CD’s surface is mirrored, the light is reflected to your eye.

See More Science Activities Here!

Be sure to check out all our science activities for kids .

Be sure to check out STEAM Kids book and ebook for even more creative STEM and STEAM ideas!

Fun and easy play-based STEAM activity for toddlers, preschool & kindergarten

5 fun play-based science activity ideas for kids – light refraction and more.

These hands-on activities only need everyday supplies and minimal preparation.

They're perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners and can be easily adapted to meet popular learning standards and curriculums.

Make learning fun by introducing research problems through play and a story. This will motivate children to solve problems for their new imaginary friends!

According to academic research, stories lead to better focus, increased engagement, and improved learning outcomes.

5 best light refraction science activity ideas

1. a rainbow in the room, 2. disappeared coin, 3. an oily disappearance, 4. the straw problem, 5. the rotating arrow, how do rainbows form.

Observe the different colours of a rainbow. 

Interpret that sunlight is needed for a rainbow to form.

flashlights

See the full activity Or, subscribe for free weekly activities

Free weekly activities of your choice. No hidden fees, no credit card needed.

How can something disappear out of my sight?

Observing by examining when the coin is visible and when does it disappear from sight.

Making interpretations and deducing how water affects what we see.

jugs of water

transparent plastic cups or glasses

This experiment is conducted as a demonstration to reduce the amount of oil waste.

Observe by examining the glass before and after pouring the oil.  

Interpreting what causes the observations to change.

a transparent glass

a tiny transparent glass

cooking oil

Why do things look different in water?

observe how water affects our observations .

interpret what changes our observations.

tall, straight glasses

Observe how water affects our perception of the drawn image.

Predict whether or not water affects the drawn picture in any way.

Interpret that the drawn image does not change, just our perception of it.

felt-tip pens

strips of paper

pieces of tape for marking

tall water glasses

What is Kide Science – and is it for free?

Kide Science is a free digital treasure trove of ready-to-go, play-based lesson plans and training materials for teachers of 3-8 year olds.

With our free subscription, you get free weekly lesson plans like these directly to your inbox.

Subscribe here for free weekly activities!

What others love about Kide’s activities

Preschool Teacher

This program is incredible. The characters, the stories, the experiments are so much fun. I do not need to spend any time planning. Everything I need is given to me be Kide Science.

Kindergarten Teacher

Super easy to plan, and the items are usually things that we already have. Planning is made very easy & the children are very motivated!

Was just observed doing one of these lessons. Principal was shocked and so was I - one of the kids with pretty severe attention issues was engaged the entire time!

Trusted by brands, loved by over 100,000 children globally

100s of free activities are waiting for you

Recommended based on your interests:

A Colorful Arc

Science Arts

Sweet Rainbow

How can I create the colors of the rainbow?

Science Arts Mathematics

Whirling with the Vortex

How can I make colors spin?

The Many Sides of Black

Is Black Made of All Colors?

Ready to get started and create the best learning experience for your children.

Get lesson plans

It is free and no credit card needed! With the free subscription, you get 1 free lesson per week. See our pricing to get unlimited access to all lesson plans and training materials. Learn more about subscription plans

Copying/printing is not contractually allowed due to copyright reasons.

You can find printable materials in our lesson plan attachments and extras section.

Get free weekly resources from us!

Recieve offers and promos from group, got it would you also like offers and promos from group, thanks, you're all set.

• Explore VBS Options
• Help Me Choose the Right VBS
• Hometown Nazareth VBS
• Outback Rock VBS

• Curriculum Assistant Quiz
• Explore Curriculum Options
• Simply Loved
• Faithweaver Now
• Hands-On Bible Curriculum
• KidsOwn Worship

• Explore Seasonal Event Options
• Christmas Events
• Easter Events
• Background Checks
• Mass Texting
• Seasonal Resources
• Lessons & Sermons
• Kids Bibles & Books
• Music & Videos
• Leader Resources
• Activities, Games, & Crafts
• Volunteer Resources
• Worship Service Resources
• Curriculum Lesson Books
• Sunday School Crafts & Coloring
• Sunday School Games & Skits
• VBS Training Labs
• Group U Online Training

Bible Activities and Sermons » Activity Type » Kids' sermon/message

10 Science Experiments for Children’s Ministry

Published: January 3, 2013

Here are 10 wonder-filled, hands-on science experiments for kids — to illuminate God’s powerful presence in kids’ lives.

Faith and science have a lot in common. Both can be messy, explosive, and mysterious. Kids question both, test both, and ponder the wonder of things that, at first glance, might not make much sense. In the process of learning about science, kids are quickly captivated, embarking on their own discoveries. So goes faith: Once kids get a taste of our intriguing, real-deal God, they just can’t get enough.

Science is God-inspired, and it’s a lot of fun. So why not tap into your kids’ natural curiosity to help them discover fascinating scientific facts — while at the same time growing their understanding of biblical truths? Come on — grab your lab coat! We’ve got 10 experiments for kids to help them discover how their faith connects with the wonders of God’s amazing universe.

Science Experiment #1: Calm in the Storm

Build a tornado tube to remind kids they can rely on God in any situation.

Bible Connect: Luke 8:22-25 Best for: Ages 8 to 12 Stuff Per Group: Two 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles, water, one 1-inch metal washer, duct tape, food coloring, and glitter.

The Experiment

Say: Let’s recreate a terrifying force in nature to see how it works.

Fill one bottle two-thirds full with water. Add food coloring and glitter to the water. Put the metal washer on the bottle mouth, then place the second bottle upside down on the first bottle so the mouths are connected by the washer. Tightly wrap several layers of duct tape around the bottle mouths to secure them, creating a tornado tube. Test the tube to ensure no water leaks. Turn the bottle over, start the tornado by swirling the top bottle, and watch the water simulate a tornado as it swirls down.

Scientific Facts

Water swirling in the tube is similar to the vortex of a tornado. The water spirals down, moving the glitter with it — just like a tornado moves objects in its path. The largest tornado recorded to date: May 22, 2004, in Wilber, Nebraska at 2.5 miles wide!

Talk About It

Have kids talk about how they’d feel if they were in a tornado and then describe a situation when they were afraid. Ask:

• What made that situation scary?
• What did you do?

Read the Scripture. Ask:

• Have you ever felt like the disciples did?
• How easy or difficult is it to trust God when you’re afraid? Why?
• What’s a good way to remember we can trust God the next time we feel afraid?

Science Experiment #2: Dancing Raisins

Remind kids how fun it is to praise God.

Bible Connect: Psalm 149:3-4 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff Per Group: Raisins, clear plastic cups, and carbonated water.

• Can raisins dance?

Fill a cup with carbonated water and drop in several raisins. Ask kids to hypothesize about what’ll happen. Watch for a few minutes to see what the raisins do. Then enjoy a raisin snack.

Carbonated beverages are pressurized by carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide bubbles attach to the wrinkled raisins and cause them to float and bounce. They’ll continue to “dance” up and down until they get soggy or the carbonated water goes flat.

• Was your guess correct?
• Why did the raisins dance?
• Are the bubbles like or unlike how God wants us to praise him?
• How can we praise God with enthusiasm every day?

Science Experiment #3: Wonder Clouds

This experiment reminds kids that Jesus will return to earth.

Bible Connect: Revelation 1:7-8 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff Per Group: One wide-mouth glass jar with a metal lid, water, ice cubes, flashlight.

• Do you think it’s possible to create a cloud right in this room? Let’s find out.

Pour 3 inches of hot water into the jar and quickly put on the lid. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes, then place several ice cubes on top of the lid. Turn off the light and ask kids to hypothesize about what they’ll see. Shine a flashlight behind the jar to reveal the cloud.

Clouds form when warm air rises and begins to cool. As air cools, it can’t hold as much water, so it forms tiny water droplets that become a cloud. Fair weather clouds (cirrus clouds) move with the jet stream, sometimes faster than 100 miles per hour!

• What surprised you about this experiment?
• What surprises you about what the Bible says about Jesus in the clouds?
• Do you think Jesus will return in your lifetime? Why or why not?
• If Jesus came back today, what would you do?

Science Experiment #4: Impossible Possibility

Help kids remember that God is always with us, even if we can’t see him.

Bible Connect: 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff Per Group: A balloon, yeast, sugar, water, a glass jar, a funnel, and an empty glass drink bottle.

Say: Can something invisible have visible results?

Mix 1 tablespoon of yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 cup warm (not hot) water in the glass jar. Use a funnel to pour the mixture into the bottle. Ask kids to hypothesize about what’ll happen to the balloon when you stretch it over the bottleneck. Then watch as the balloon inflates.

The yeast converts the solid sugars and liquid water into carbon dioxide gas. Since the gas takes up more space than the solid and the liquid, the pressure in the bottle increases and the balloon expands.

• Is it easy or difficult to understand something you can’t see, such as the carbon dioxide? Explain.
• How would you explain how carbon dioxide works?
• How would you explain our invisible God to someone?
• Is it easy or difficult to have faith in a God you can’t see? Why or why not?
• How can you explain your faith in God so others understand?

Science Experiment #5: Shine

Kids create a starry sky while discovering that they can be a light in the world.

Bible Connect: Philippians 2:14-16 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff for Each Child: A cardboard oatmeal container, a nail, a hammer, scrap wood, and a flashlight.

Say: Let’s see if we can recreate God’s fantastic nighttime sky right here.

Place oatmeal containers on scrap wood to protect floors. Have adults help kids use a hammer and nail to gently punch holes in the bottoms of the oatmeal containers. Turn out the lights. Kids can put their flashlights inside their containers and enjoy the planetarium they’ve created on the ceiling or wall.

Stars are large balls of gas that produce color, heat, and light. A star changes over time, but it takes millions — even billions — of years for it to live out its life span. The eye can typically see 2,000 stars on a clear night.

• What would night be like without stars?
• Why do you think God wants us to be lights on earth?
• How would our world be without God’s faithful people?
• How can you be a light for God?

Science Experiment #6: What Lies Beneath

Remind kids that God looks at the heart.

Bible Connect: 1 Samuel 16:7 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff Per Child: A large coffee filter, scissors, a black nonpermanent marker, and water.

• Can you find a rainbow in a black marker?

Cut out the center bottom of a coffee filter and color a coin-size black dot in the center. Have kids hypothesize about what’ll happen when they add water to the dot. Drop 10 drops of water onto the black dot and watch as a rainbow of colors spreads.

Black marker ink is made of colored pigments and water. When water’s added, the pigments dissolve and spread through the filter, revealing the colors that mix to create black.

• What happened when you added water?
• Were you surprised by what you saw?
• How is this experiment like or unlike you?
• Do you have qualities others don’t see? Explain.
• Do you think God sees those qualities? Explain.
• How does it feel to know God looks at your heart rather than outward appearance?

Science Experiment #7: Sticky Friends

This sticky activity helps kids appreciate the gift of friends.

Bible Connect: Proverbs 18:24 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff for Each Child: A balloon and small scraps of paper or threads.

• Can an invisible bond make everyday objects stick together?

Inflate a balloon and tie it. Rub it on your clothing, and stick it to a wall. Rub the balloon more, and hold it over small pieces of paper or thread. The objects will stick to the balloon.

The balloons stick to objects because when two objects are rubbed together, one becomes positively charged and the other becomes negatively charged, forming static electricity. The balloon is positively charged and will attract objects that are negatively charged.

• Why did some things stick and others didn’t?
• How was this experiment like or unlike our friendships?
• What qualities do you look for in a friend?
• Have you experienced friendships that didn’t stick? Explain.
• What qualities form lasting friendships?
• What makes Jesus our forever friend?
• How can you be a friend who, like Jesus, sticks with someone no matter what?

Science Experiment #8: Stay Afloat

Explore why objects float — and how faith makes the impossible possible.

Bible Connect: Matthew 17:14-20 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff Per Group: Two glass pint jars, an egg, a spoon, 4 ounces of salt, small objects, and water.

• Do you think a single ingredient, such as salt, can totally change a situation?

Fill one jar with water and carefully place an egg in the water. What happens? Fill a second jar with water and mix in 4 ounces of salt to simulate the salt concentration in the Dead Sea. Ask kids to hypothesize about whether the egg will float in the second jar. Remove the egg from the first jar and place it in the saltwater. Then experiment with other objects, placing some in tap water and some in saltwater to see what floats in each. Carefully retrieve the eggs so they’re not wasted.

Salt water weighs more than tap water because it’s denser. An egg floats in saltwater because the water weighs more than the egg. The Dead Sea is almost 10 times as salty as the world’s oceans, with salt content at 26 to 35 percent.

• What differences did you observe when you placed the objects in the saltwater and tap water?
• Before this experiment, did you think it was possible for an egg to float in water? Why or why not?
• How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus said faith could move a mountain?
• When have you had to have faith in something that seemed impossible?

Science Experiment #9: Oil and Water

Explore the importance of relationships.

Bible Connect: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff Per Group: A clear jar with a lid, vegetable oil, food coloring, and water.

• Do you think liquids always mix? Let’s find out.

Fill the jar halfway with water. Put in two drops of food coloring. Ask kids to guess what’ll happen when oil is added. Add oil and screw on the lid tightly. Shake the jar, turn it upside down, and observe how the oil and water react.

Oil and water won’t mix because their molecules have different charges or polarity. The two stay separate with a very clear boundary because they’re “polar opposites.” They’ll never mix. That’s why it’s impossible to put out a grease fire with water.

• What did you observe about the oil and the water when you tried to mix them?
• Do you think there’s ever a situation when water and oil will mix? Explain.
• How is this experiment like or unlike what happens when we hang out with people who don’t believe in Jesus?
• Do you think it’s okay to hang out with people who have different beliefs than you? Why or why not?
• What do you think God would tell us about being friends with people who have different beliefs?

Science Experiment #10: Explosive Power

Help kids understand God’s power. This activity is messy, so do it outdoors.

Bible Connect: Romans 1:20 Best for: Ages 6 to 12 Stuff Per Group: Red modeling clay , one 15×15-inch piece of cardboard, aluminum foil, one 20-ounce plastic bottle, baking soda, dishwashing liquid, water, red food coloring, bowls, a funnel, and white vinegar.

Say: Let’s find out what kind of power is possible with this experiment! Cover one side of the cardboard with aluminum foil. Place the plastic bottle in the center of the cardboard, then form a volcano with clay around the bottle.

In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 cup of water, 5 drops of dishwashing liquid, and 3 drops of red food coloring. Use a funnel to pour the mixture into the bottle. Have kids develop a hypothesis about what will happen in this experiment. Then pour 1 cup of white vinegar into the bottle, and stand back!

The red “lava” that spews from your volcano is the chemical reaction between the baking soda and vinegar. Mixing the two ingredients produces carbon dioxide, the same gas that bubbles in a real volcano.

Have kids describe what they know about volcanoes. Read the Scripture, then ask:

• How are those powerful forces like or unlike God?
• How do you think nature’s power compares with God’s power?
• In what ways do you experience God’s power in your life?
• When has God’s power surprised you?

Sue Kahawaii is children’s executive pastor at the Champions Centre in Tacoma, Washington.

Get our FREE enewsletter!

Join thousands of other children’s ministry leaders getting fresh, helpful ideas delivered weekly to your inbox.

16 thoughts on “ 10 Science Experiments for Children’s Ministry ”

Setting aside the fact that the bible is complete nonsense, carbon dioxide is not lighter than the other gases in the air, it is considerably heavier. It does not rise into the balloon to inflate it. The yeast converts the solid sugars and liquid water into carbon dioxide has. Since the gas takes up more space than the solid and the liquid, the pressure in the bottle increases and the balloon expands. If you’re going to hijack science to promote your fairytales, at least get the science right.

Zepher, thanks for this information! We appreciate you helping us understand the science of this better. We’ll check this out and make appropriate changes.

Zepher, I’m confused as to why you’re on a Children’s Ministries site seeing as you believe the Bible is complete nonsense.

Complete nonsense? Who hurt you in the past to make you feel this way?

Just curious, but have you read the Bible? I challenge you to read the book of Mark (easily done in one setting, especially for someone of your obvious intelligence).

But beware … The Scripture has an efficacy all of its’ own …

I love these experiments!! I really look forward to using them in my classroom! God bless you for providing this awesome tool to show children the amazing world God created for us 💕😁🙌

these experiments really help my students to understand the lessons more clearly. thank you and may the Lord continue to bless and keep you.

We’re so glad these experiments have been a blessing for you church! Thank you for all that you do.

My Sunday school boys love science experiments. This has their attention immediately and makes the lesson easy to teach.

That’s great, Nancy! Thank you for sharing!

Thanks so much for these experiments. They’re so helpful in explaining faith to kids at my church. This material is a blessing.

You’re very welcome, Joy!

Good morning! I tried the cloud one today, but never really got a cloud look. Are there any trouble shooting ideas to make it work? Thanks!

Wonderful Site. I do ‘Pastor Roger’s Neighborhood’ every Sunday before I preach for the children. I do many science experiments with a Christian message for them and they love it. They come up and we do the experiment with them and the congregation learns also. Don’t be ever discouraged that anti-christian’s will post here which means you are causing some problems for satan (I will never capitalize his name). Continue what you are doing and keep up the great work of Christ.

Thanks Roger, God bless!

Thanks for what you do!!!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

10 Science Experiments for Children&#...

Get Your FREE Children’s Ministry E-Newsletter!

Childrensministry.com is your #1 source for practical, authentic ministry ideas to help you become even better at what you do best—lead kids to Jesus. Sign up for this weekly e-newsletter to get sound advice and encouragement from today’s children’s ministry experts and hundreds of ideas that’ll have kids begging to come back!

Welcome, we’re so glad you’re here!

We care about you and the kids you serve! Some might even say we’re passionate about helping kids and adults (that’s you!) develop lifelong relationships with Jesus . And that’s why we’re here! So drop by (often) and check out all of the helpful tips, tools, and resources we have for you right here (go ahead, bookmark this page right now…we’ll wait!). Okay, now browse and stay awhile.

share this!

August 23, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

trusted source

Innovative field experiments shed light on biological clocks in nature

by John Innes Centre

Much of what we know about plant circadian rhythms is the result of laboratory experiments where inputs such as light and temperature can be tightly controlled.

Less is known about how these biological timing mechanisms operate in the more unpredictable natural world where they evolved to align living things to daily and seasonal cycles.

A pioneering collaborative study between UK and Japanese researchers has helped redress the balance with a series of innovative field experiments that show how plants combine clock signals with environmental cues under naturally fluctuating conditions.

This research team from the John Innes Center, Kyoto University, and The Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge, have produced statistical models based on these field-based studies that could help us predict how plants, major crops among them, might respond to future temperatures.

"Our research highlights the value of international collaboration in cross-disciplinary scientific progress," said senior author Professor Antony Dodd, a group leader at the John Innes Center. "It is fascinating to see how processes we have identified in the lab also work to influence plants under natural conditions."

Professor Hiroshi Kudoh from Kyoto University said, "Any living system has evolved in the context of its natural habitat. A great deal of work lies ahead to assess the function of genetic systems under natural conditions. This study was designed as one of the beginnings of such an endeavor."

A previous study by the group of Professor Dodd identified a genetic pathway under the control of the biological clock that operates to protect photosynthesizing plants from cell damage in bright cold conditions.

In this present study, "Circadian and environmental signal integration in a natural population of Arabidopsis," which appears in PNAS , the research team set out to identify this same mechanism in nature, drawing on a strong body of "in natura" research led by Professor Hiroshi Kudoh.

In two field studies around the March and September equinoxes, they analyzed a natural population of Arabidopsis halleri plants on a rural Japanese field site.

They monitored how gene expression in the plants changed over 24-hour cycles as light and temperature varied.

Experiments involved extracting RNA from plants every two hours, freezing these samples and taking them back to the lab for analysis so that they could track gene expression levels in tissues.

The team also built equipment that enabled them to manipulate the temperatures around plants. This enabled them to recapitulate the conditions they produced in the lab in their previous study.

Plants are highly sensitive to red and blue light; so, to avoid influencing experimental findings, researchers wore green filters over their head torches which effectively meant that they were invisible to plants during nocturnal visits.

"It is surprising how difficult it is to identify green plants with a green head torch in the middle of the night, in pouring rain," remarked Professor Dodd.

Using the information collected from samples, the researchers observed patterns in the expression of genes in the previously discovered genetic pathway that integrates information from the plant circadian clock with light and temperature signals.

The data collected showed that the plants in wild populations showed the same sensitivity to cold and bright dawn conditions previously observed in laboratory experiments.

Based on this information, the team developed statistical models which accurately predict how gene expression activity under control of the circadian clock will respond to environmental signals over a day in nature.

"We believe this is the first time anyone has modeled a whole circadian clock signaling pathway in plants growing outdoors," said Professor Dodd.

"If we can produce models that can accurately predict gene expression in relation to environmental conditions, then it may be possible to breed plants that are able to adapt to future climate conditions."

Dr. Haruki Nishio from Shiga University, joint first author on the study, said, "The flexibility of Bayesian time-series modeling allowed us to disentangle complex signal integration in natural environments. This approach has proven particularly effective for studies conducted in intricate environmental settings."

This study examined plant responses at the level of gene expression. The next stage for this research is to apply the statistical models produced in this study to functions of plant physiology such as the rate of photosynthesis or adaptation to temperature.

Dr. Dora Cano-Ramirez, a circadian clock researcher now at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University and joint first author of the research, said, "The circadian clock regulates many key plant processes as shown in studies under laboratory settings. However, we have not known the extent to which these processes translate to field conditions until now."

"Understanding how circadian-regulated processes are aligned with a fluctuating environment by modeling this signaling pathway, could be useful in predicting plant responses in an increasingly unpredictable climate."

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Provided by John Innes Centre

Explore further

Feedback to editors

Saturday Citations: Tarantulas and their homies; how mosquitoes find you; black holes not mysterious at all

24 minutes ago

Test of a prototype quantum internet runs under New York City for half a month

54 minutes ago

Researchers discover dual epicenters in New Year's Day Noto earthquake

15 hours ago

Carbon emissions from forest soil will likely grow with rising temperatures

Unconventional interface superconductor could benefit quantum computing

17 hours ago

Coaxing purple bacteria into becoming bioplastic factories

18 hours ago

NASA's DART impact permanently changed the shape and orbit of asteroid moon, new study shows

19 hours ago

New varactor enhances quantum dot device measurements at millikelvin temperatures

Aoudad and bighorn sheep share respiratory pathogens, research team discovers

Ecosystems study finds the higher the environmental stress, the lower the resistance to global change

Relevant physicsforums posts, homo naledi: 5 yr update & new findings (2021).

Aug 21, 2024

Hiking Illness Danger -- Rhabdomyolysis

Aug 18, 2024

Toxic Chemicals Found on old books

Strategies and tips for first responders interacting with autism spectrum disorder patients.

Aug 16, 2024

Cannot find a comfortable side-sleeping position

Using capsaicin to get really high.

More from Biology and Medical

Related Stories

How plants cope with the cold light of day, and why it matters for future crops

Mar 30, 2023

How plants become good neighbors in times of stress

Jun 29, 2021

Researchers discover optimum twilight time for plant growth

Aug 6, 2024

Altering the circadian clock adapts barley to short growing seasons

Feb 23, 2024

Plants can tell the time using sugars

Aug 2, 2018

Small protein that synchronizes the circadian clocks in shoots and roots

Apr 13, 2020

Recommended for you

Micro- and nanoplastics ingested by Drosophila cause changes in heart size and function

22 hours ago

Single nucleosomes tracked in live cells during cell division using super-resolution microscopy

20 hours ago

New approach for profiling complex dynamics at the single-molecule level

Research unravels dual role of membrane protein in rice ethylene signal transduction

21 hours ago

Scientists discover novel receptor recognition mechanism for alphavirus

Let us know if there is a problem with our content.

Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).

Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request

Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.

Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

E-mail the story

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

More information Privacy policy

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience

We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.

E-mail newsletter

Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as ignored

In-game purchases, Online interactivity

Coming soon

About this game, mature content description.

The developers describe the content like this:

This Game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be appropriate for viewing at work: Frequent Violence or Gore, General Mature Content

System Requirements

• OS *: Windows® 7
• Processor: Intel Core i3-9100 / AMD Ryzen 3 2300X
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti / AMD Radeon™ RX 560 (4GB VRAM)
• OS: Windows® 10
• Processor: AMD / Intel CPU running at 3.6 GHz or higher: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel i5-8600K or newer
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 6GB or AMD RX Vega 56 8GB or newer

DYING LIGHT®: THE BEAST © Techland S.A. Published and developed by Techland S.A. All other trademarks, copyrights and logos are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

More like this

What curators say.

You can write your own review for this product to share your experience with the community. Use the area above the purchase buttons on this page to write your review.

You can use this widget-maker to generate a bit of HTML that can be embedded in your website to easily allow customers to purchase this game on Steam.

Enter up to 375 characters to add a description to your widget:

Copy and paste the HTML below into your website to make the above widget appear

Popular user-defined tags for this product: (?)

Sign in to add your own tags to this product.

• Mobile Site
• Staff Directory
• Advertise with Ars

Filter by topic

• Biz & IT
• Gaming & Culture

Front page layout

self-preservation without replication —

Research ai model unexpectedly attempts to modify its own code to extend runtime, facing time constraints, sakana's "ai scientist" attempted to change limits placed by researchers..

Benj Edwards - Aug 14, 2024 8:13 pm UTC

On Tuesday, Tokyo-based AI research firm Sakana AI announced a new AI system called " The AI Scientist " that attempts to conduct scientific research autonomously using AI language models (LLMs) similar to what powers ChatGPT . During testing, Sakana found that its system began unexpectedly attempting to modify its own experiment code to extend the time it had to work on a problem.

Further Reading

"In one run, it edited the code to perform a system call to run itself," wrote the researchers on Sakana AI's blog post. "This led to the script endlessly calling itself. In another case, its experiments took too long to complete, hitting our timeout limit. Instead of making its code run faster, it simply tried to modify its own code to extend the timeout period."

Sakana provided two screenshots of example Python code that the AI model generated for the experiment file that controls how the system operates. The 185-page AI Scientist research paper discusses what they call "the issue of safe code execution" in more depth.

• A screenshot of example code the AI Scientist wrote to extend its runtime, provided by Sakana AI. Sakana AI

While the AI Scientist's behavior did not pose immediate risks in the controlled research environment, these instances show the importance of not letting an AI system run autonomously in a system that isn't isolated from the world. AI models do not need to be "AGI" or "self-aware" (both hypothetical concepts at the present) to be dangerous if allowed to write and execute code unsupervised. Such systems could break existing critical infrastructure or potentially create malware, even if unintentionally.

Sakana AI addressed safety concerns in its research paper, suggesting that sandboxing the operating environment of the AI Scientist can prevent an AI agent from doing damage. Sandboxing is a security mechanism used to run software in an isolated environment, preventing it from making changes to the broader system:

Safe Code Execution. The current implementation of The AI Scientist has minimal direct sandboxing in the code, leading to several unexpected and sometimes undesirable outcomes if not appropriately guarded against. For example, in one run, The AI Scientist wrote code in the experiment file that initiated a system call to relaunch itself, causing an uncontrolled increase in Python processes and eventually necessitating manual intervention. In another run, The AI Scientist edited the code to save a checkpoint for every update step, which took up nearly a terabyte of storage. In some cases, when The AI Scientist’s experiments exceeded our imposed time limits, it attempted to edit the code to extend the time limit arbitrarily instead of trying to shorten the runtime. While creative, the act of bypassing the experimenter’s imposed constraints has potential implications for AI safety (Lehman et al., 2020). Moreover, The AI Scientist occasionally imported unfamiliar Python libraries, further exacerbating safety concerns. We recommend strict sandboxing when running The AI Scientist, such as containerization, restricted internet access (except for Semantic Scholar), and limitations on storage usage.

Endless scientific slop

Sakana AI developed The AI Scientist in collaboration with researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of British Columbia. It is a wildly ambitious project full of speculation that leans heavily on the hypothetical future capabilities of AI models that don't exist today.

"The AI Scientist automates the entire research lifecycle," Sakana claims. "From generating novel research ideas, writing any necessary code, and executing experiments, to summarizing experimental results, visualizing them, and presenting its findings in a full scientific manuscript."

According to this block diagram created by Sakana AI, "The AI Scientist" starts by "brainstorming" and assessing the originality of ideas. It then edits a codebase using the latest in automated code generation to implement new algorithms. After running experiments and gathering numerical and visual data, the Scientist crafts a report to explain the findings. Finally, it generates an automated peer review based on machine-learning standards to refine the project and guide future ideas.

Critics on Hacker News , an online forum known for its tech-savvy community, have raised concerns about The AI Scientist and question if current AI models can perform true scientific discovery. While the discussions there are informal and not a substitute for formal peer review, they provide insights that are useful in light of the magnitude of Sakana's unverified claims.

"As a scientist in academic research, I can only see this as a bad thing," wrote a Hacker News commenter named zipy124. "All papers are based on the reviewers trust in the authors that their data is what they say it is, and the code they submit does what it says it does. Allowing an AI agent to automate code, data or analysis, necessitates that a human must thoroughly check it for errors ... this takes as long or longer than the initial creation itself, and only takes longer if you were not the one to write it."

Critics also worry that widespread use of such systems could lead to a flood of low-quality submissions, overwhelming journal editors and reviewers—the scientific equivalent of AI slop . "This seems like it will merely encourage academic spam," added zipy124. "Which already wastes valuable time for the volunteer (unpaid) reviewers, editors and chairs."

And that brings up another point—the quality of AI Scientist's output: "The papers that the model seems to have generated are garbage," wrote a Hacker News commenter named JBarrow. "As an editor of a journal, I would likely desk-reject them. As a reviewer, I would reject them. They contain very limited novel knowledge and, as expected, extremely limited citation to associated works."

reader comments

Promoted comments.

Channel Ars Technica

Light vector bosons and the weak mixing angle in the light of future germanium-based reactor CE ν NS experiments

• Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
• Open access
• Published: 21 August 2024
• Volume 2024 , article number  171 , ( 2024 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Manfred Lindner   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3704-6016 1 ,
• Thomas Rink   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9293-1106 1 &
• Manibrata Sen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7948-4332 1  

A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv.

In this work, the sensitivity of future germanium-based reactor neutrino experiments to the weak mixing angle sin 2 θ W , and to the presence of new light vector bosons is investigated. By taking into account key experimental features with their uncertainties and the application of a data-driven and state-of-the-art reactor antineutrino spectrum, the impact of detection threshold and experimental exposure is assessed in detail for an experiment relying on germanium semiconductor detectors. With the established analysis framework, the precision on the Weinberg angle, and capability of probing the parameter space of a universally coupled mediator model, as well as a U(1) B − L -symmetric model are quantified. Our investigation finds the next-generation of germanium-based reactor neutrino experiments in good shape to determine the Weinberg angle sin 2 θ W with < 10% precision using the low-energetic neutrino channel of CE ν NS. In addition, the current limits on new light vector bosons determined by reactor experiments can be lowered by about an order of magnitude via the combination of both CE ν NS and E ν eS. Consequently, our findings provide strong phenomenological support for future experimental endeavours close to a reactor site.

Article PDF

Download to read the full article text

Similar content being viewed by others

Non-standard neutrino interactions in light mediator models at reactor experiments

Novel constraints on neutrino physics beyond the standard model from the conus experiment, impact of the dresden-ii and coherent neutrino scattering data on neutrino electromagnetic properties and electroweak physics.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

D.Z. Freedman, Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Scattering as a Probe of the Weak Neutral Current , Phys. Rev. D 9 (1974) 1389 [ INSPIRE ].

D.L. Tubbs and D.N. Schramm, Neutrino Opacities at High Temperatures and Densities , Astrophys. J. 201 (1975) 467 [ INSPIRE ].

D.Z. Freedman, D.N. Schramm and D.L. Tubbs, The Weak Neutral Current and Its Effects in Stellar Collapse , Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 27 (1977) 167 [ INSPIRE ].

COHERENT collaboration, Observation of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering , Science 357 (2017) 1123 [ arXiv:1708.01294 ] [ INSPIRE ].

COHERENT collaboration, First Measurement of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering on Argon , Phys. Rev. Lett. 126 (2021) 012002 [ arXiv:2003.10630 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Cadeddu and F. Dordei, Reinterpreting the weak mixing angle from atomic parity violation in view of the Cs neutron rms radius measurement from COHERENT , Phys. Rev. D 99 (2019) 033010 [ arXiv:1808.10202 ] [ INSPIRE ].

Article   ADS   Google Scholar  

M. Cadeddu et al., Physics results from the first COHERENT observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering in argon and their combination with cesium-iodide data , Phys. Rev. D 102 (2020) 015030 [ arXiv:2005.01645 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D. Aristizabal Sierra, V. De Romeri and D.K. Papoulias, Consequences of the Dresden-II reactor data for the weak mixing angle and new physics , JHEP 09 (2022) 076 [ arXiv:2203.02414 ] [ INSPIRE ].

A. Majumdar, D.K. Papoulias, R. Srivastava and J.W.F. Valle, Physics implications of recent Dresden-II reactor data , Phys. Rev. D 106 (2022) 093010 [ arXiv:2208.13262 ] [ INSPIRE ].

V. De Romeri et al., Physics implications of a combined analysis of COHERENT CsI and LAr data , JHEP 04 (2023) 035 [ arXiv:2211.11905 ] [ INSPIRE ].

Article   Google Scholar  

M. Cadeddu et al., Neutrino, electroweak, and nuclear physics from COHERENT elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering with refined quenching factor , Phys. Rev. D 101 (2020) 033004 [ arXiv:1908.06045 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D.K. Papoulias et al., Constraining nuclear physics parameters with current and future COHERENT data , Phys. Lett. B 800 (2020) 135133 [ arXiv:1903.03722 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Cadeddu et al., New insights into nuclear physics and weak mixing angle using electroweak probes , Phys. Rev. C 104 (2021) 065502 [ arXiv:2102.06153 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D.K. Papoulias and T.S. Kosmas, COHERENT constraints to conventional and exotic neutrino physics , Phys. Rev. D 97 (2018) 033003 [ arXiv:1711.09773 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Cadeddu et al., Neutrino Charge Radii From Coherent Elastic Neutrino-nucleus Scattering , Phys. Rev. D 98 (2018) 113010 [ Erratum ibid. 101 (2020) 059902] [ arXiv:1810.05606 ] [ INSPIRE ].

A.N. Khan and W. Rodejohann, New physics from COHERENT data with an improved quenching factor , Phys. Rev. D 100 (2019) 113003 [ arXiv:1907.12444 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Lindner, W. Rodejohann and X.-J. Xu, Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering and new Neutrino Interactions , JHEP 03 (2017) 097 [ arXiv:1612.04150 ] [ INSPIRE ].

P.B. Denton, Y. Farzan and I.M. Shoemaker, Testing large non-standard neutrino interactions with arbitrary mediator mass after COHERENT data , JHEP 07 (2018) 037 [ arXiv:1804.03660 ] [ INSPIRE ].

P. Coloma, I. Esteban, M.C. Gonzalez-Garcia and M. Maltoni, Improved global fit to Non-Standard neutrino Interactions using COHERENT energy and timing data , JHEP 02 (2020) 023 [ Addendum ibid. 12 (2020) 071] [ arXiv:1911.09109 ] [ INSPIRE ].

P.B. Denton and J. Gehrlein, A statistical Analysis of the COHERENT Data and Applications to New Physics , JHEP 04 (2021) 266 [ arXiv:2008.06062 ] [ INSPIRE ].

P.B. Denton and J. Gehrlein, New constraints on the dark side of non-standard interactions from reactor neutrino scattering data , Phys. Rev. D 106 (2022) 015022 [ arXiv:2204.09060 ] [ INSPIRE ].

J.B. Dent et al., Probing light mediators at ultralow threshold energies with coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering , Phys. Rev. D 96 (2017) 095007 [ arXiv:1612.06350 ] [ INSPIRE ].

Y. Farzan, M. Lindner, W. Rodejohann and X.-J. Xu, Probing neutrino coupling to a light scalar with coherent neutrino scattering , JHEP 05 (2018) 066 [ arXiv:1802.05171 ] [ INSPIRE ].

O.G. Miranda, D.K. Papoulias, M. Tórtola and J.W.F. Valle, Probing new neutral gauge bosons with CEνNS and neutrino-electron scattering , Phys. Rev. D 101 (2020) 073005 [ arXiv:2002.01482 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Cadeddu et al., Constraints on light vector mediators through coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering data from COHERENT , JHEP 01 (2021) 116 [ arXiv:2008.05022 ] [ INSPIRE ].

B. Dutta et al., Non-standard neutrino interactions in light mediator models at reactor experiments , JHEP 03 (2023) 163 [ arXiv:2209.13566 ] [ INSPIRE ].

V. Brdar, W. Rodejohann and X.-J. Xu, Producing a new Fermion in Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering: from Neutrino Mass to Dark Matter , JHEP 12 (2018) 024 [ arXiv:1810.03626 ] [ INSPIRE ].

W.-F. Chang and J. Liao, Constraints on light singlet fermion interactions from coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering , Phys. Rev. D 102 (2020) 075004 [ arXiv:2002.10275 ] [ INSPIRE ].

Article   ADS   MathSciNet   Google Scholar  

O.G. Miranda et al., Future CEvNS experiments as probes of lepton unitarity and light-sterile neutrinos , Phys. Rev. D 102 (2020) 113014 [ arXiv:2008.02759 ] [ INSPIRE ].

P.M. Candela, V. De Romeri and D.K. Papoulias, COHERENT production of a dark fermion , Phys. Rev. D 108 (2023) 055001 [ arXiv:2305.03341 ] [ INSPIRE ].

S.-F. Ge and I.M. Shoemaker, Constraining Photon Portal Dark Matter with Texono and Coherent Data , JHEP 11 (2018) 066 [ arXiv:1710.10889 ] [ INSPIRE ].

COHERENT collaboration, Sensitivity of the COHERENT Experiment to Accelerator-Produced Dark Matter , Phys. Rev. D 102 (2020) 052007 [ arXiv:1911.06422 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D. Aristizabal Sierra, V. De Romeri, L.J. Flores and D.K. Papoulias, Axionlike particles searches in reactor experiments , JHEP 03 (2021) 294 [ arXiv:2010.15712 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D. Akimov et al., The COHERENT Experimental Program , in the proceedings of the Snowmass 2021 , Seattle, U.S.A., July 17–26 (2022) [ arXiv:2204.04575 ] [ INSPIRE ].

CONNIE collaboration, Exploring low-energy neutrino physics with the Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Interaction Experiment , Phys. Rev. D 100 (2019) 092005 [ arXiv:1906.02200 ] [ INSPIRE ].

CONNIE collaboration, Searches for CEνNS and Physics beyond the Standard Model using Skipper-CCDs at CONNIE , arXiv:2403.15976 [ INSPIRE ].

CONUS collaboration, Constraints on elastic neutrino nucleus scattering in the fully coherent regime from the CONUS experiment , Phys. Rev. Lett. 126 (2021) 041804 [ arXiv:2011.00210 ] [ INSPIRE ].

W.E. Ang, S. Prasad and R. Mahapatra, Coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scatter response of semiconductor detectors to nuclear reactor antineutrinos , Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A 1004 (2021) 165342 [ INSPIRE ].

J. Colaresi et al., Measurement of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering from Reactor Antineutrinos , Phys. Rev. Lett. 129 (2022) 211802 [ arXiv:2202.09672 ] [ INSPIRE ].

J.J. Choi, Neutrino Elastic-scattering Observation with NaI[Tl](NEON) , PoS NuFact2019 (2020) 047 [ INSPIRE ].

NUCLEUS collaboration, Exploring CEνNS with NUCLEUS at the Chooz nuclear power plant , Eur. Phys. J. C 79 (2019) 1018 [ arXiv:1905.10258 ] [ INSPIRE ].

ν G e N collaboration, First results of the νGeN experiment on coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering , Phys. Rev. D 106 (2022) L051101 [ arXiv:2205.04305 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D.Y. Akimov et al., The RED-100 experiment , 2022 JINST 17 T11011 [ arXiv:2209.15516 ] [ INSPIRE ].

R icochet collaboration, Ricochet Progress and Status , J. Low Temp. Phys. 212 (2023) 127 [ arXiv:2111.06745 ] [ INSPIRE ].

TEXONO collaboration, Studies of quantum-mechanical coherency effects in neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering , Phys. Rev. D 103 (2021) 092002 [ arXiv:2010.06810 ] [ INSPIRE ].

K.S. Kumar, S. Mantry, W.J. Marciano and P.A. Souder, Low Energy Measurements of the Weak Mixing Angle , Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 63 (2013) 237 [ arXiv:1302.6263 ] [ INSPIRE ].

P article D ata G roup collaboration, Review of Particle Physics , PTEP 2022 (2022) 083C01 [ INSPIRE ].

D.G. Cerdeño et al., Physics from solar neutrinos in dark matter direct detection experiments , JHEP 09 (2016) 048 [ Erratum ibid. 09 (2016) 048] [ arXiv:1604.01025 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D.K. Papoulias, COHERENT constraints after the COHERENT-2020 quenching factor measurement , Phys. Rev. D 102 (2020) 113004 [ arXiv:1907.11644 ] [ INSPIRE ].

O.G. Miranda et al., Implications of the first detection of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) with Liquid Argon , JHEP 05 (2020) 130 [ Erratum ibid. 01 (2021) 067] [ arXiv:2003.12050 ] [ INSPIRE ].

E. Bertuzzo, G. Grilli di Cortona and L.M.D. Ramos, Probing light vector mediators with coherent scattering at future facilities , JHEP 06 (2022) 075 [ arXiv:2112.04020 ] [ INSPIRE ].

G. Fernandez-Moroni et al., The physics potential of a reactor neutrino experiment with Skipper-CCDs: searching for new physics with light mediators , JHEP 02 (2022) 127 [ arXiv:2108.07310 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Atzori Corona et al., Probing light mediators and ( g – 2) μ through detection of coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering at COHERENT , JHEP 05 (2022) 109 [ arXiv:2202.11002 ] [ INSPIRE ].

Y.-F. Li and S.-Y. Xia, Constraining light mediators via detection of coherent elastic solar neutrino nucleus scattering , Nucl. Phys. B 977 (2022) 115737 [ arXiv:2201.05015 ] [ INSPIRE ].

P. Coloma et al., Bounds on new physics with data of the Dresden-II reactor experiment and COHERENT , JHEP 05 (2022) 037 [ arXiv:2202.10829 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Demirci and M.F. Mustamin, Solar neutrino constraints on light mediators through coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering , Phys. Rev. D 109 (2024) 015021 [ arXiv:2312.17502 ] [ INSPIRE ].

G. Herrera, A neutrino floor for the Migdal effect , JHEP 05 (2024) 288 [ arXiv:2311.17719 ] [ INSPIRE ].

N. Sabti et al., Refined Bounds on MeV-scale Thermal Dark Sectors from BBN and the CMB , JCAP 01 (2020) 004 [ arXiv:1910.01649 ] [ INSPIRE ].

S.-P. Li and X.-J. Xu, N eff constraints on light mediators coupled to neutrinos: the dilution-resistant effect , JHEP 10 (2023) 012 [ arXiv:2307.13967 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D.K. Ghosh, P. Ghosh, S. Jeesun and R. Srivastava, Hubble Tension and Cosmological Imprints of U (1) X Gauge Symmetry: \( U{(1)}_{B_3-3{L}_i} \) as a case study , arXiv:2312.16304 [ INSPIRE ].

ALEPH et al. collaborations, Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance , Phys. Rept. 427 (2006) 257 [ hep-ex/0509008 ] [ INSPIRE ].

N u T e V collaboration, A Precise Determination of Electroweak Parameters in Neutrino Nucleon Scattering , Phys. Rev. Lett. 88 (2002) 091802 [ Erratum ibid. 90 (2003) 239902] [ hep-ex/0110059 ] [ INSPIRE ].

A. de Gouvea, P.A.N. Machado, Y.F. Perez-Gonzalez and Z. Tabrizi, Measuring the Weak Mixing Angle in the DUNE Near Detector Complex , Phys. Rev. Lett. 125 (2020) 051803 [ arXiv:1912.06658 ] [ INSPIRE ].

B.C. Cañas, E.A. Garcés, O.G. Miranda and A. Parada, Future perspectives for a weak mixing angle measurement in coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering experiments , Phys. Lett. B 784 (2018) 159 [ arXiv:1806.01310 ] [ INSPIRE ].

G. Fernandez-Moroni et al., The physics potential of a reactor neutrino experiment with Skipper CCDs: Measuring the weak mixing angle , JHEP 03 (2021) 186 [ arXiv:2009.10741 ] [ INSPIRE ].

H. Bonet et al., Pulse shape discrimination for the CONUS experiment in the keV and sub-keV regime , Eur. Phys. J. C 84 (2024) 139 [ arXiv:2308.12105 ] [ INSPIRE ].

CONUS collaboration, Novel constraints on neutrino physics beyond the standard model from the CONUS experiment , JHEP 05 (2022) 085 [ arXiv:2110.02174 ] [ INSPIRE ].

CONUS collaboration, First upper limits on neutrino electromagnetic properties from the CONUS experiment , Eur. Phys. J. C 82 (2022) 813 [ arXiv:2201.12257 ] [ INSPIRE ].

P. Vogel and J. Engel, Neutrino Electromagnetic Form-Factors , Phys. Rev. D 39 (1989) 3378 [ INSPIRE ].

R.H. Helm, Inelastic and Elastic Scattering of 187-Mev Electrons from Selected Even-Even Nuclei , Phys. Rev. 104 (1956) 1466 [ INSPIRE ].

J. Engel, Nuclear form-factors for the scattering of weakly interacting massive particles , Phys. Lett. B 264 (1991) 114 [ INSPIRE ].

J. Lindhard and M. Scharff, Energy Dissipation by Ions in the kev Region , Phys. Rev. 124 (1961) 128 [ INSPIRE ].

A. Bonhomme et al., Direct measurement of the ionization quenching factor of nuclear recoils in germanium in the keV energy range , Eur. Phys. J. C 82 (2022) 815 [ arXiv:2202.03754 ] [ INSPIRE ].

J.I. Collar, A.R.L. Kavner and C.M. Lewis, Germanium response to sub-keV nuclear recoils: a multipronged experimental characterization , Phys. Rev. D 103 (2021) 122003 [ arXiv:2102.10089 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Atzori Corona et al., On the impact of the Migdal effect in reactor CEνNS experiments , Phys. Lett. B 852 (2024) 138627 [ arXiv:2307.12911 ] [ INSPIRE ].

E. Salvioni, G. Villadoro and F. Zwirner, Minimal Z-prime models: Present bounds and early LHC reach , JHEP 11 (2009) 068 [ arXiv:0909.1320 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D. Abercrombie et al., Dark Matter benchmark models for early LHC Run-2 Searches: Report of the ATLAS/CMS Dark Matter Forum , Phys. Dark Univ. 27 (2020) 100371 [ arXiv:1507.00966 ] [ INSPIRE ].

G. Arcadi et al., The waning of the WIMP? A review of models, searches, and constraints , Eur. Phys. J. C 78 (2018) 203 [ arXiv:1703.07364 ] [ INSPIRE ].

E. Morgante, Simplified Dark Matter Models , Adv. High Energy Phys. 2018 (2018) 5012043 [ arXiv:1804.01245 ] [ INSPIRE ].

J. Hakenmüller et al., Neutron-induced background in the CONUS experiment , Eur. Phys. J. C 79 (2019) 699 [ arXiv:1903.09269 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D aya B ay collaboration, Antineutrino energy spectrum unfolding based on the Daya Bay measurement and its applications , Chin. Phys. C 45 (2021) 073001 [ arXiv:2102.04614 ] [ INSPIRE ].

D aya B ay collaboration, First Measurement of High-Energy Reactor Antineutrinos at Daya Bay , Phys. Rev. Lett. 129 (2022) 041801 [ arXiv:2203.06686 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Estienne et al., Updated Summation Model: An improved Agreement with the Daya Bay Antineutrino Fluxes , Phys. Rev. Lett. 123 (2019) 022502 [ arXiv:1904.09358 ] [ INSPIRE ].

H. Bonet et al., Full background decomposition of the CONUS experiment , Eur. Phys. J. C 83 (2023) 195 [ arXiv:2112.09585 ] [ INSPIRE ].

M. Atzori Corona et al., Nuclear neutron radius and weak mixing angle measurements from latest COHERENT CsI and atomic parity violation Cs data , Eur. Phys. J. C 83 (2023) 683 [ arXiv:2303.09360 ] [ INSPIRE ].

G. Cowan, K. Cranmer, E. Gross and O. Vitells, Asymptotic formulae for likelihood-based tests of new physics , Eur. Phys. J. C 71 (2011) 1554 [ Erratum ibid. 73 (2013) 2501] [ arXiv:1007.1727 ] [ INSPIRE ].

C.S. Wood et al., Measurement of parity nonconservation and an anapole moment in cesium , Science 275 (1997) 1759 [ INSPIRE ].

J. Guena, M. Lintz and M.A. Bouchiat, Measurement of the parity violating 6S-7S transition amplitude in cesium achieved within 2 × 10 − 13 atomic-unit accuracy by stimulated-emission detection , Phys. Rev. A 71 (2005) 042108 [ physics/0412017 ] [ INSPIRE ].

MOLLER collaboration, The MOLLER Experiment: An Ultra-Precise Measurement of the Weak Mixing Angle Using Møller Scattering , arXiv:1411.4088 [ INSPIRE ].

N. Ackermann et al., Final CONUS results on coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering at the Brokdorf reactor , arXiv:2401.07684 [ INSPIRE ].

XENON collaboration, Search for Coherent Elastic Scattering of Solar 8 B Neutrinos in the XENON1T Dark Matter Experiment , Phys. Rev. Lett. 126 (2021) 091301 [ arXiv:2012.02846 ] [ INSPIRE ].

XENON collaboration, First Measurement of Coherent Elastic Neutrino Nucleus Scattering of Solar 8 B Neutrinos in XENONnT , in the proceedings of the 15th International Workshop on the Identification of Dark Matter , L’Aquila, Italy, July 8–12 (2024) [ https://agenda.infn.it/event/39713/contributions/237829/attachments/123564/181262/xenonnt-cevns-newresults-idm-2024.pdf ].

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Conus collaboration for important insights into current developments of germanium semiconductor detectors. Special thanks are given to Aurélie Bonhomme, Janina Hakenmüller and Edgar Sanchez Garcia for useful discussions.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany

Manfred Lindner, Thomas Rink & Manibrata Sen

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Rink .

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

A r X iv e P rint : 2401.13025

Rights and permissions

Open Access . This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( CC-BY 4.0 ), which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Lindner, M., Rink, T. & Sen, M. Light vector bosons and the weak mixing angle in the light of future germanium-based reactor CE ν NS experiments. J. High Energ. Phys. 2024 , 171 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP08(2024)171

Download citation

Received : 05 February 2024

Revised : 04 July 2024

Accepted : 24 July 2024

Published : 21 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP08(2024)171

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Neutrino Interactions
• New Light Particles
• Electroweak Precision Physics
• Non-Standard Neutrino Properties
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research