7
The Neutrino Is Born as an Idea
New ideas that lead to progress in science come in many ways. Often theories
follow experiments but sometimes, the reverse can be true. Classic examples
of theories following experiments in physics included: Faraday’s law, Oersted’s
discovery of connection between electricity and magnetism that established
the correct laws governing electricity; Bohr’s atomic theory that led to the
whole framework of quantum mechanics; and in more recent times, the idea
of no mirror asymmetry in nature enunciated by T. D. Lee and C. N. Yang.
In the field of biology, the famous double helix structure of DNA proposed by
James Watson and Francis Crick which opened up new frontiers in biology also
belongs to the first category. There are also equally illustrious example of experiments following theory. For example, Hertz’s discovery of electromagnetic
waves, which is behind radio and TV signal transmission, came following the
theoretical suggestion of electromagnetic waves by Maxwell, and the discovery
of pi meson followed the suggestion of Yukawa. The pi meson opened up the
field of nuclear and particle physics. One could include the discovery of gravity
waves as experimental discovery following theory as well. The same pattern
of close symbiosis between theory and experiment, with one influencing the
other, has continued into the current century. The idea of the neutrino belongs
to the first category as we explain below.
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. N. Mohapatra, The Neutrino Story: One Tiny Particle’s Grand Role in the Cosmos,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51846-2_7
51
The Neutrino Is Born as an Idea
New ideas that lead to progress in science come in many ways. Often theories
follow experiments but sometimes, the reverse can be true. Classic examples
of theories following experiments in physics included: Faraday’s law, Oersted’s
discovery of connection between electricity and magnetism that established
the correct laws governing electricity; Bohr’s atomic theory that led to the
whole framework of quantum mechanics; and in more recent times, the idea
of no mirror asymmetry in nature enunciated by T. D. Lee and C. N. Yang.
In the field of biology, the famous double helix structure of DNA proposed by
James Watson and Francis Crick which opened up new frontiers in biology also
belongs to the first category. There are also equally illustrious example of experiments following theory. For example, Hertz’s discovery of electromagnetic
waves, which is behind radio and TV signal transmission, came following the
theoretical suggestion of electromagnetic waves by Maxwell, and the discovery
of pi meson followed the suggestion of Yukawa. The pi meson opened up the
field of nuclear and particle physics. One could include the discovery of gravity
waves as experimental discovery following theory as well. The same pattern
of close symbiosis between theory and experiment, with one influencing the
other, has continued into the current century. The idea of the neutrino belongs
to the first category as we explain below.
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. N. Mohapatra, The Neutrino Story: One Tiny Particle’s Grand Role in the Cosmos,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51846-2_7
51