physics

Muon neutrino

Muon neutrino is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Muon neutrino rather than just read about it. In short: The muon neutrino is an elementary particle which has the symbol νμ and zero electric charge. Together with the muon it forms the second generation of leptons, hence the name muon neutrino.

Key takeaways

Muon neutrino belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Muon neutrino to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Muon neutrino from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The muon neutrino is an elementary particle which has the symbol νμ and zero electric charge. Together with the muon it forms the second generation of leptons, hence the name muon neutrino. It was discovered in 1962 by Leon Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger. The discovery was rewarded with the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Discovery

The muon neutrino or "neutretto" was hypothesized by several physicists in the 1940s. The first paper on it may be Shoichi Sakata and Takesi Inoue's two-meson theory of 1942, which also involved two neutrinos. In 1962 Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger proved the existence of the muon neutrino in an experiment at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. This earned them the 1988 Nobel Prize.

Apparent speed anomaly

In September 2011 OPERA researchers reported that muon neutrinos were apparently traveling at faster than the speed of light. This result was confirmed in a second experiment in November 2011. These results were viewed skeptically by the scientific community at large, and more experiments investigated the anomaly. In March 2012 the ICARUS team published results directly contradicting the results of OPERA. Later, in July 2012, the apparent anomalous super-luminous propagation of neutrinos was traced to a faulty element of the fibre optic timing system in Gran Sasso. After it was corrected the neutrinos appeared to travel with the speed of light within the errors of the experiment.

See also Electron neutrino Neutrino oscillation PMNS matrix Tau neutrino

References

Further reading Leon M. Lederman (1988). "Observations in Particle Physics from Two Neutrinos to the Standard Model" (PDF). Nobel Lectures. The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2010-02-11. Melvin Schwartz (1988). "The First High Energy Neutrino Experiment" (PDF). Nobel Lectures. The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2010-02-11. Jack Steinberger (1988). "Experiments with High-Energy Neutrino Beams" (PDF). Nobel Lectures. The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2010-02-11.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Muon neutrino

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Muon neutrino claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Muon neutrino before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Muon neutrino ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Muon neutrino

In research: Muon neutrino appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Muon neutrino in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Muon neutrino is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Elementary particles, Leptons, Neutrinos, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Muon neutrino outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Muon neutrino in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Muon neutrino means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Muon neutrino out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Muon neutrino in simple terms?

The muon neutrino is an elementary particle which has the symbol νμ and zero electric charge. Together with the muon it forms the second generation of leptons, hence the name muon neutrino.

Why does Muon neutrino matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Muon neutrino?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Muon neutrino.