The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment (KATRIN) has estimated a new upper limit on the neutrino mass while observing the disintegration of molecular tritium

• The experiment set a new upper limit of 0.45 electron volts (eV) on neutrino mass, which is less than one-millionth the mass of an electron (the next-lightest known particle at 511,000 eV)

About Neutrinos

• Neutrinos are the most abundant elementary subatomic particles that have mass in the universe and belong to the leptons family of particles.
• Produced: Neutrinos are produced in various nuclear processes, including nuclear fusion in stars, nuclear fission in particle reactors or accelerators, and the decay of muons.
  • Bananas also emits neutrinos (coming from the natural radioactivity of the potassium in the fruit)
• Types: There are 3 types of neutrinos,
  • The electron neutrino, the muon neutrino, and the tauon neutrino
    • Neutrino Oscillation: Neutrinos Oscillations refer to the way neutrinos change their types or flavor as they travel
      • Neutrinos travel close to the speed of light
• Key Characteristics:
  • Neutrality: Neutrinos are electrically neutral, meaning they carry no electric charge. 
  • Neutrino Mass: Neutrinos possess an extremely small mass which has not been measured exactly until now.
    • The particle oscillations (measuring the differences in the squares of the neutrino masses) phenomenon has established that at least two types of neutrinos have more than zero mass, winning them the 2015 Nobel Prize for physics.

• • Spin: They have a spin of 1/2, making them fermions. 
  • Interaction: Neutrinos primarily interact through the weak force, which is responsible for certain types of radioactive decay. 
  • Interaction with Matter: Neutrinos rarely interact with other matter which means they can pass through almost anything.
  • Helicity: Neutrinos and their antiparticles (antineutrinos) are distinguished by their helicity (spin direction relative to their momentum). Neutrinos are typically left-handed, while antineutrinos are right-handed.

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