Without neutrinos, the sun would not shine

The "ghost particle" neutrino was recently the subject of "Science at 12", the format of the House of Science. The guest was physicist Dr. Christian Spiering (DESY Zeuthen). The event, which was attended by around 70 guests, was moderated by Prof. Dr. Alexander Lenz. Christian Spiering had his recently published non-fiction book "Das seltsste Teilchen der Welt. On the hunt for the neutrino". It describes the scientific discoveries of seven scientists who have worked on neutrinos.

Prof. Dr. Alexander Lenz: "Neutrinos are incredibly important. Without them, even the sun wouldn't shine." Since the 1950s, we have known that there are three types of neutrinos, each of which has a different flavor: one is associated with the electron, another with the electron's heavier cousin, the muon, and yet another with the massive tauon. The neutrino flavors can change, which makes them difficult to detect. "Neutrinos are everywhere, you just don't notice them," says Spiering. Neutrinos have weak interactions, which makes them difficult to detect.

Lise Meitner (1878 - 1968) first assumed a radioactive beta decay. Radioactive beta decay is a radioactive process in which a neutron transforms into a proton (β- decay) or a proton into a neutron (β+ decay) in the nucleus of an atom. In the process, particles with high energy, so-called beta particles (electrons or positrons), and a neutrino or antineutrino are emitted. Wolfgang Pauli proposed the existence of the neutrino in 1930 in order to solve the mystery of radioactive beta decay. Fred Reines is considered the discoverer of the neutrino (1956). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995 for its experimental detection. Bruno Pontecorvo, an Italian physicist who fled to the Soviet Union, was one of the first to consider the possibility of observing neutrinos and neutrino oscillations.

Spiering recounts personal as well as researcher moments from the life of his protagonist. Lise Meitner first became a French teacher. She was only allowed to study physics at the age of 23. She worked together with Otto Hahn. Wolfgang Pauli was regarded as a "child prodigy" who wrote papers on the theory of relativity while still at school. This made "Saturdays at 12" an educational and entertaining event dedicated to the neutrino.