India-based Neutrino Observatory is included by the Planning Commission as a mega science project under the 11th Five-Year Plan. In this context, consider the following statements:
- Neutrinos are chargeless elementary particles that travel close to the speed of light.
- Neutrinos are created in nuclear reactions of beta decay.
- Neutrinos have a negligible, but non-zero mass.
- Trillions of neutrinos pass through the human body every second.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3 only
- 2, 3 and 4
- 1, 2, 3 and 4
Explanation
Option (d) is correct
- Neutrinos are fundamental elementary particles that carry no electric charge and interact very weakly with matter. They travel at speeds close to that of light. They are produced in large numbers during nuclear reactions, particularly beta decay processes occurring in the Sun, nuclear reactors and cosmic events. Experimental evidence has established that neutrinos possess a very small but non-zero mass, which was a major discovery in particle physics. Due to their extremely weak interaction with matter, trillions of neutrinos pass through the human body every second without causing harm. The flux of solar neutrinos alone results in approximately 60 to 100 trillion neutrinos passing through a person’s body every second.
