# Researchers image lead blocks through concrete with laser-generated muons

_Published Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 2:06 AM EDT · Science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![muon laser schematic — Primary](https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/8319b58/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1050+0+225/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com%2Fb4%2F3b%2Fcbc97faf4433907ef12cdb8baf76%2Fmuon-imaging-laser.jpg&na.image_optimisation=0)

Physicists at Romania's Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics facility used laser-generated muons to image lead blocks through a two-meter concrete wall, New Atlas reports. The results appear in a preprint and demonstrate an artificial source of particles that penetrate dense material.

The facility's 10 petawatt laser accelerated electrons into a lead barrier. Researchers then used polyethylene sheets wrapped around paraffin blocks to filter other particles from the beam. Detectors in a van beyond the concrete captured the lead blocks' shadow. The images were grainy and lacked detail; the researchers' claim to the first laser-produced muograph is also contested by uncertainty over the particles used in an earlier experiment.

## Sources

- [New Atlas: Technology-Innovation-Outdoor News](https://newatlas.com/technology/pics-muon-laser-reveal-unseeable/)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/jJeLhbg18ruaRHmHsb93Oj
Published: 2026-10-01T06:06:52.199Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-01T05:00:15.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-01T08:26:57.542Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)