Discover the mystery of sun neutrinos

2002/04/23 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astrofisika
• Astronomia

There was already the model of thermonuclear reactions that occur in the Sun, but according to this theory the number of neutrinos to reach from the Sun did not correspond to the observed.

Neutrinos are subatomic particles of very small mass and neutral electric charge. The interaction between matter and neutrinos is very weak and therefore it is very difficult to detect them. This is one of the peculiarities of neutrinos.

There are three types of neutrinos corresponding to three different subatomic particles: electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos and brass neutrinos. Electron neutrinos are produced in thermonuclear reactions that take place in the nucleus of the Sun. Understanding this type of reaction has allowed us to determine the number of neutrinos emitted by our star. But until now, only a third of that amount was detected, which has confused scientists for years. They doubted that the theory was going to be incorrect.

The Canadian Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) telescope uses 1000 tons of very pure heavy water, which has allowed detecting not only electron neutrinos (the easiest to detect) but also other types of neutrinos. Thus, taking into account the three types of neutrinos detected, the theory about reactions in the Sun has been confirmed. According to scientists, it has been clear that neutrinos are transformed into the path from the Sun to the Earth.

Undoubtedly, the observations of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory will allow a better knowledge of neutrinos, a great step for basic physics.