Discovery of the neutrino
The neutrino is
very reluctant to react with its environment. A very
intensive neutrino source and a very heavy target are
needed to capture even a few neutrinos.
(anti)neutrino + proton –› neutron + positron.
Reines and Cowan realised the
importance of detecting both the neutron and the
positron to reduce the risk of incorrect
interpretation. Despite the large flow of neutrinos
from the reactor, a low counting rate was expected.
But Reines and Cowan succeeded finally in recording a
few events per hour.
|Underground detector tank for cosmic neutrino capture being examined by a diver.|