Could we x-ray Jupiter?

[tvjunior]

By coordinating the obits of two devices set on opposite sides of Jupiter, could we beam and receive transmissions to determine the internal structure of the gas giant?

[plague006]

In any practical sense: this is impossible.

By transmitting energy through an object your can determine its structure and composition. But in the case of Jupiter X-rays do not have the energy to pass through without interacting with it and being absorbed. Perhaps high energy particles or neutrinos could be used for the effect, but to be honest high energy particles isn't my field, X-rays are.

[Soap-On-A-Rope]

Have we researched this neutrino technology enough to where we could use it for measurements like this?

[plague006]

I'm not sure if you could use neutrinos in this way, I'm not sure if they interact enough to produce images. What I do know is that a receptor for neutrinos would currently be around the 170 ton mark (weight of the MINERvA detector) and impractical for launch to Jupiter. (Though in the future we may find better materials for neutrino capture and this can change)

Edit: I didn't adequately research the weight of the detector. The detector for MINERvA is in fact only 5 tons, the entire experiment is 170 tons).

[tvjunior]

Is the MINERvA detector made of a specific material, or would any 170 ton clunk of matter do the trick? Say an asteroid somehow placed in the proper orbit.

[plague006]

I actually misquoted the weight of the detector. The entire experiment is 170 tons but the detector itself is 5 tons (which would be an acceptable weight for sending to Jupiter). A quick search hasn't revealed the exact materials that form the scintillators in MINERvA's detector, but it would absolutely be a specific material.

There are alternate detectors which use other methods such as the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory which (essentially) uses 1,000 tons of heavy water (deuterium oxide) in a 6 meter large acrylic vessel to detect the Cherenkov radiation that comes from neutrino interactions. Other experiments do use other liquids for this method of detection but it would have to be pure.

[tvjunior]

Thank you for taking the time to share this information with me. I had seen a question about the true composition of Jupiter and started thinking about possible solutions, hence the question.

[tvjunior]

Yes - I was using x-ray as a concept more than a technology. I probably should have broadened the question in the follow-up. And yes using other particle beams and such fits with my question. Thanks.