Timeline for Is the earth bombarded equally in all directions by neutrinos?
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11 events
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| Apr 7, 2016 at 11:53 | comment | added | user1569 | So we detect as many neutrinos at night as during the day This answer states that the flux is equal on both sides of the earth. However, this does not answer the question are the neutrinos coming from everywhere?. (I actually think that the OP was neglecting the sun and wondering about neutrino sources being evenly distributed in the universe, or not). | |
| Apr 7, 2016 at 9:09 | comment | added | ProfRob | @2012rcampion Roughly speaking it takes a Sievert to kill you and 100 Sieverts to kill you within a few hours. It appears the dose from neutrinos at 1 au in a supernova might just kill you a few weeks later and therefore the comment from Luaan is correct. | |
| Apr 7, 2016 at 8:03 | comment | added | 2012rcampion | @RobJeffries What If? took a look at this question. You'd have to be so close to the supernova to receive a deadly amount of neutrinos that your cause of death would be "being inside a star." On a slightly more serious note, the mechanism of neutrino damage is the same as for "ordinary" ionizing radiation: it knocks around atoms in your body that are part of important molecules, like DNA. | |
| Apr 7, 2016 at 7:01 | comment | added | ProfRob | @MasonWheeler I'm saying that we receive the neutrino flux before the massive increase in light, because the neutrinos can escape directly from the collapsing core. This was observed for SN1987A. I was just curious as to what effects of the neutrinos would kill us, but apparently not for several hours. Perhaps radiation poisoning? I don't know - the commenter appears to know. Hence my question. | |
| Apr 7, 2016 at 2:49 | comment | added | JDługosz | There are also neutrinos generated by cosmic rays interacting with the atmosphere. These make up a portion of the day-to-day detection events. | |
| Apr 7, 2016 at 0:24 | comment | added | Mark | @MasonWheeler, it takes hours for the light from the core-collapse explosion to reach the surface because of all the hydrogen in the way. Neutrinos, on the other hand, barely interact with normal matter, so they reach the surface almost immediately. | |
| Apr 6, 2016 at 23:52 | comment | added | Mason Wheeler | @RobJeffries Are you claiming that neutrinos travel faster than light? | |
| Apr 6, 2016 at 23:13 | comment | added | ProfRob | @Luaan Please explain. The neutrinos arrive considerably (hours) before the light. | |
| Apr 6, 2016 at 22:24 | comment | added | Luaan | To put supernovae into perspective: neutrinos barely react with normal matter at all, as you note. However, if a core-collapse supernova occurred as far from us as the Sun, even the neutrino flux would be enough to kill you. Supernovae are huge. Of course, it wouldn't be the thing that kills you - the light will kill you much faster. | |
| Apr 6, 2016 at 22:18 | comment | added | Thorsten S. | Addition: Because it is a good question how we can detect neutrinos if they pass through any matter even so thick like planet earth: They sometimes do react with matter. The neutrino detectors are looking for reactions and they only include reactions coming from below. Even the most penetrating cosmic radiation can penetrate earth only some kilometers, so particles coming from under the ground must be neutrinos. | |
| Apr 6, 2016 at 16:35 | history | answered | James K | CC BY-SA 3.0 |