Lead blocks reportedly imaged almost entirely with laser-produced muons

Science Magazine reports that researchers used the world’s most powerful laser in June to create a particle beam, which they sent through a concrete wall and into a black van. After processing the data, they released images showing a shadow of lead blocks between the wall and the van. In a preprint, the researchers reported that the images were created almost entirely by laser-produced muons. Science Magazine says on-demand muon beams could eventually reveal things light cannot penetrate, such as subsurface archaeological structures or concealed nuclear materials.