What is a neutrino?

A neutrino is a fundamental particle of matter, meaning that it has no substructure (it can't be broken down further into components). It has a very low mass, so the gravitational force exerted on it and by it is negligible. It has been described as "ghostly" because it usually travels through objects without interacting with them in any observable way. The Sun produces about 2*1038 neutrinos per second through fusion reactions. It has also been observed that there are three different types, or "flavours" of neutrinos, each with a different mass. There are electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos, and tau neutrinos. Neutrinos used to be thought of as massless, but it turns out their mass is just extremely small. Neutrinos (or antineutrinos) are produced by beta-minus or beta-plus decay, which is mediated by what is known as the "weak" force.

PC
Answered by Patrick C. Physics tutor

7236 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Describe how the strong nuclear force between two nucleons varies the distance between the 2 nucleons.


Define light, critical and heavy damping in simple harmonic motion.


The mercury atoms in a fluorescent tube are excited and then emit photons in the ultraviolet region of the elecrtomagnetic spectrum. Explain how the mercury atoms become excited.


A 1kg spring has an unloaded length 10cm and has an elastic constant of 100N/m. It is compressed to 6cm then placed facing upwards on the floor. When released it travels vertically upwards. How high does it jump? You may assume no energy is lost to heat o


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning