Neutrino
An electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary particle with nearly zero rest mass. Neutrinos are produced in beta decay and other nuclear reactions. They are classified as leptons and come in three types: electron neutrino (νₑ), muon neutrino (νμ), and tau neutrino (νₜ). The antineutrino (ν̄) appears in beta-minus decay.
Real World
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory buried beneath Antarctica's ice sheet detected neutrinos from a blazar galaxy 3.7 billion light-years away in 2017, confirming neutrinos travel cosmological distances essentially unimpeded.
Exam Focus
State that neutrinos were postulated to conserve energy and momentum in beta decay — examiners expect this historical reasoning, not just a definition.
How well did you know this?