A Proposed Experimental Test of the Neutrino Theory (open access)

A Proposed Experimental Test of the Neutrino Theory

The experiment outlined in this proposal has the possibility of giving an answer to the important question, 'Does the neutrino exist'? It is unfortunate that at the present time, there is no convincing experimental that neutrinos exist. Two recent articles review the status of various experiments which could give information about neutrinos. In general, these experiments give results in agreement with the predictions of beta decay theory. But actually, if even the most complete of the 'recoil type' experiments could be performed satisfactorily, all that could be concluded would be the following: the energy and momentum relationships in beta decay are consistent with the theory that the known energy deficit is carried away by a single particle. But to emphasize the fact that this would not constitute a proof of the real existence of that particle, the following quotations from the review articles should be noted. Crane says, 'All of the evidence about the neutrino is, as already pointed out, indirect in character since neutrinos have not yet been caught after leaving the nucleus. It can, of course, be argued on very general grounds that, if energy is not conserved between nucleus and electron, momentum should not be expected to …
Date: April 18, 1949
Creator: Alvarez, Luis W.
System: The UNT Digital Library