If neutrinos do have mass could they be converted into energy? Also how abundant are neutrinos in our own galaxy/universe?
In: Physics
Your awesome. Thank you so much!
In theory could you use an anti-neutrino to convert an neutrino to create a vacuum or a form of cold fusion to continuously collect and convert the neutrinos to be used as energy? What processes could potentially be used?
Can they be converted?
In theory. The thing about fuel is that it’s in a ready-to-use state.
We could smash one into it’s anti-particle, but we’d have to create the anti-particle in the first place and that defeats any power generation plans we might have.
How abundant are they? About the most abundant thing in the universe. I think something like a trillion are passing through the palm of your hand every second. [Relevant XKCD](https://what-if.xkcd.com/73/).
They don’t interact with matter very well.
You know how we use Lead to stop X-rays?
You’d need a barrier of Lead about a light-year thick (distance light travels in one years time) to have a 50/50 chance of stopping it.
They just don’t really interact with anything.
Rocks also have mass, but they can’t really be converted to energy. Neutrinos, similarly so. Now, if you could react a neutrino with its antineutrino, you could get that energy, but some neutrinos barely interact with anything you’re going to have a hard time with that.
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