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Warpspeed13
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What's the difference between a neutrino and a Muon? Will a neutrino induce fusion the same as a muon? Does muon induced fusion take place in the sun? Any help is greatly appreciated.
ChrisVer said:No there are no muons at the sun because the energies are not enough.
Warpspeed13 said:How are muons artificially created then?
Orodruin said:This statement is not entirely accurate. Muons are created also in cosmic ray interactions with the solar corona just as they are created in the atmosphere of the earth. Of course, such muons will decay long before they could reach us and the only possible signal at the Earth would be the neutrino flux from such decays. In fact, this is one of the possible backgrounds for (indirect) dark matter searches at neutrino telescopes.
The main difference between a muon and a neutrino is their charge. Muons have a negative charge, while neutrinos have no charge. This difference in charge also affects their interactions with matter and the strength of their interactions with other particles.
The mass of a muon is about 200 times greater than the mass of a neutrino. While the exact mass of a neutrino is still unknown, it is believed to be extremely small, possibly even zero. This difference in mass also affects their behavior and interactions in the subatomic world.
Both muons and neutrinos can be created and destroyed through various processes in particle accelerators or during high-energy collisions between particles. However, they cannot be created or destroyed in isolation, and their production and decay are governed by the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of charge.
Muons are relatively unstable particles and have a short lifespan, decaying into other particles within a fraction of a second. In contrast, neutrinos are considered to be stable particles, with a half-life that is expected to be longer than the age of the universe. This difference in stability also plays a role in their detection and study.
Both muons and neutrinos have been used in various fields of science and technology. For example, muons are used in medical imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) scans, while neutrinos have been used to study the sun and other astrophysical phenomena. In addition, neutrinos have also been proposed as a potential source of clean and renewable energy through nuclear reactions.