Neutrino - GS questions based on daily current affairs

1)   Which type of elementary particle is a neutrino?

a. Leptons
b. Quarks
c. Bosons
d. Antiquarks
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Leptons

Explanation:
Neutrinos are leptons. Neutrinos are elementary particles i.e. whose substructure is unknown. Known elementary particles include the fundamental fermions (quarks, leptons, antiquarks, and antileptons), which generally are "matter particles" and "antimatter particles", as well as the fundamental bosons (gauge bosons and the Higgs boson), which generally are "force particles" that mediate interactions among fermions. A particle containing two or more elementary particles is a composite particle. Every minute billions of neutrinos must be passing through our body but we do not get affected by them. Neutrino is an electrically neutral elementary particle with half-integer spin. Neutrinos have mass but tiny even compared to other subatomic particles and they constitute the only identified matter associated with hot dark matter specifically hot dark matter. They do not carry any electrical charge and hence are not affected by electromagnetic radiation and they are leptons so do not get affected by strong forces and not even by the subatomic forces in the nucleus. They typically pass through normal matter unimpeded and undetected just like light travels through transparent material. The neutrinos in our vicinity are mainly due to the nuclear reactions occurring in the Sun. Stellar phenomena such as big bang, supernovae, production of cosmic radiation result in the production of neutrinos in abundance. Since their mass is negligible and they are uncharged, neutrinos do not cause any ionizing radiation and do not produce any changes in our bodies. Neutrinos are used conveniently in probing the environment wherein other radiations such as light, radio waves cannot penetrate, in detecting Sun's core conditions and also in probing Supernovae.


2)   Which of the following scientists is credited with postulating of neutrino particle?

a. Richard Feynman
b. Paul Dirac
c. Wolfgang Pauli
d. Erwin Schrödinger
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Wolfgang Pauli

Explanation:
Neutrinos were first proposed by the Austrian Wolfgang Pauli in 1930 while explaining how beta decay could conserve energy, momentum, and angular momentum (spin).


3)   India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is a proposed particle physics research laboratory at


a. Nilgiris Hills , Kerla
b. Garhjat Hills ,Jharkhand
c. Bodi Hills, Tamilnadu
d. Maikal Hills, Chhattisgarh
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Bodi Hills, Tamilnadu

Explanation:
India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) was initially supposed to be located at Singara in Nilgiris. Due to proximty with Mudumalai National Park it is relocated to rocky mountain in the Bodi West Hills region of Theni.