Neutrino
Context: Germany’s KATRIN experiment has set a new upper limit on the sum of neutrino masses at 8.8 × 10⁻⁷ times the electron mass, marking a twofold improvement over previous results and advancing the quest to understand these elusive, nearly massless particles that challenge the Standard Model of particle physics.
Important Pointers:
Definition: Neutrinos are electrically neutral, nearly massless subatomic particles that interact very weakly with matter.
Family: They belong to the Lepton family and do not experience a strong nuclear force.
Sources: Produced in radioactive decay, supernovae, solar nuclear fusion, and cosmic ray interactions.
Abundance: Neutrinos are the second most abundant particles in the universe after photons.
Flux: Roughly 100 trillion neutrinos pass through the human body every second, mostly undetected.
Detection Challenge: Due to weak interactions, detecting neutrinos requires ultra-sensitive detectors and long observation times.