Neutrinos
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Earth & Neutrinos
- Neutrinos is a particle!
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o - interaction of a neutrino with the oxygen atom (red) in a water ice molecule (blue) has produced a secondary particle – a muon.
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O - a muon that is moving at relativistic speed, leaving a trace of Blue Cherenkov radiation (blue flash shown there).
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o - Blue Cherenkov radiation is a blue glow that occurs when electrically charged particles move faster than light.
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More information
- Cherenkov radiation (wikipedia)
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BSL Version
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What’s a neutrino?
- Neutrinos are, however, the most common particle in the universe.
o - Neutrinos are similar to the more familiar electron, with one crucial difference:
neutrinos do not carry electric charge.
o - Neutrinos are electrically neutral sub-atomic particles that are produced in great numbers by the nuclear reactions that take place inside sun or stars.
o - Neutrinos travel through space at the speed of light in straight lines, and only affected by the weak nuclear force and gravity.
o - Neutrinos interact very weakly with matter and countless trillions of neutrinos travel straight through our Earth each day.
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BSL Version
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Raymond Davis
(Photo from Wikipedia)
- US astronomer Raymond Davis Jr – awarded a Nobel Prize in 2002; he was the first to detect neutrinos produced by the Sun. (wikipedia)
o - made his discovery, he built a large steel tank deep underground and filled it with 600 tonnes of dry-cleaning fluid.
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