Electron’s antineutrino

Definition

An electron's antineutrino is an elementary particle with no electric charge and very little mass, emitted during beta decay. It is the antiparticle counterpart of the electron neutrino.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Electron's antineutrinos are produced in beta-minus decay when a neutron converts into a proton, an electron, and an electron's antineutrino.
2. They have no electric charge and interact very weakly with matter, making them difficult to detect.
3. Electron's antineutrinos are involved in conserving lepton number during nuclear reactions.
4. Their existence was first hypothesized by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930 and later confirmed experimentally.
5. The detection of electron's antineutrinos provides evidence for the conservation laws of energy and momentum in nuclear decays.

Review Questions

• What role does the electron's antineutrino play in beta-minus decay?
• Why are electron's antineutrinos difficult to detect?
• How does the existence of an electron's antineutrino support conservation laws in nuclear physics?

Related terms

Beta-Minus Decay: A type of radioactive decay where a neutron transforms into a proton, emitting an electron and an electron's antineutrino.

Lepton Number Conservation: A principle stating that the total number of leptons remains constant in a nuclear reaction.

Neutron: A subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom with no electric charge and slightly more mass than a proton.