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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: What is a Neutrino ?
« on: 08/09/2005 17:04:37 »quote:
Originally posted by Solvay_1927
After a lengthy break, I've come back to considering this topic again, and something's just struck me.
(ouch)
A neutrino and anti-neutrino can annihilate to form a positron and an electron.
But photons also produce electrons and positrons.
So does this mean that photons can be considered to be made up of a combination (some sort of "resonance" or something) of a neutrino and an antineutrino?
Or am I just being really thick?
The production of electron-positron pairs by neutrinos apparently can occur only near other matter, and under certain conditions. I don't see any relationship between this phenomenon and any concept that a photon is not an elementary particle. Particle-pair production occurs under many conditions throughout particle physics. As long as no conservation laws are broken, almost an unlimited number of particles can be formed fron energy available during energetic reactions.
"F = ma, E = mc^2, and you can't push a string."