neutrino
Sign in to saveA neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter Nu (letter)|) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small (-ino) that it was long thought to be zero. The rest mass of the neutrino is much smaller than that of the other known elementary particles (excluding massless particles).
AI overview
A neutrino is a tiny, electrically neutral elementary particle that interacts through the weak force and gravity, and was named for its minimal mass, which scientists once believed to be zero. Neutrinos matter because they are among the smallest and least massive particles known to exist, making them important to our understanding of fundamental physics.
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Key facts
- Particle.caption
- The first use of a hydrogen bubble chamber to detect neutrinos, on 13 November 1970, at Argonne National Laboratory. Here a neutrino hits a proton in a hydrogen atom; the collision occurs at the point where three tracks emanate on the right of the photograph.
- Particle.num_types
- 3 types: , , and
- Particle.composition
- Elementary particle
- Particle.group
- Leptons, antileptons
- Particle.statistics
- Fermionic
- Particle.generation
- First (), second (), and third ()
- Particle.interaction
- Weak interaction and gravitation
- Particle.particle
- ,
- Particle.antiparticle
- ,
- Particle.symbol
- , , , , ,
- Particle.mass
- < (< ), cosmological limit, sum of 3 "flavors"
Article
45 sectionsContents
- History
- Pauli's proposal
- Direct detection
- Neutrino flavor <span class="anchor" id="Neutrino_flavors_anchor"></span>
- Solar neutrino problem
- Oscillation
- Cosmic neutrinos
- Properties and reactions
- Flavor, mass, and their mixing <span id="neutrino_flavor_anchor" class="anchor"></span>
- Flavor oscillations
- Mikheyev–Smirnov–Wolfenstein effect
- Antineutrinos
- Majorana mass
- Nuclear reactions
- Induced fission and other disintegration events
- Types
- Research
- Detectors near artificial neutrino sources
- Gravitational effects
- Sterile neutrino searches
- Neutrinoless double-beta decay searches
- Cosmic ray neutrinos
- Speed
- Superluminal neutrino glitch
- Mass <span type="anchor" id="neutrino_mass_anchor"></span>
- Chirality
- Sources
- Artificial
- Reactor neutrinos
- Accelerator neutrinos
- Collider neutrinos
- Nuclear weapons
- Geologic
- Atmospheric
- Solar
- Supernovae
- Supernova remnants
- Big Bang
- Detection
- Scientific interest
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter Nu (letter)|) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small (-ino) that it was long thought to be zero. The rest mass of the neutrino is much smaller than that of the other known elementary particles (excluding massless particles). The weak force has a very short range, the gravitational interaction is extremely weak due to the very small mass of the neutrino, and neutrinos do not participate in the electromagnetic interaction or the strong interaction. Consequently, neutrinos typically pass through normal matter unimpeded and with no detectable effect.
Weak interactions create neutrinos in one of three leptonic flavors: electron neutrino, muon neutrino, tau neutrino,