-- Posted by Raza say at 2:03 am on Sep. 28, 2008 so really, when alpha rays for polonium i think bombard Be, then Neutrinos are produced along with another element. But Neutrinos have zero mass and charge. How so? -- Posted by holysaiyan1 at 7:07 am on Sep. 28, 2008 Neutrinos do have a non-zero mass, it's just very, very, very slight.  Scientists estimate that the mass of a neutrino is somewhere around 0.0027 eV, .  To compare, a proton has a mass of 938,272,310 eV, give or take a few. Both the electrical neutrality and small mass of the neutrino can be explained by string theory.  Tiny Planck-sized strings vibrate in certain ways, in accordance with the laws of physics.  Each different way a string can vibrate makes a different kind of particle that behaves in different ways.  The string vibration that corresponds to neutrinos (generally speaking, because there are several different kinds of neutrinos) is such that the resulting particle has extremely small mass and is electrically neutral. -- Posted by Raza say at 4:53 pm on Sep. 28, 2008 okay.How is it electrically neutral? And why does it has zero charge? -- Posted by Nerdandproud at 5:42 pm on Sep. 28, 2008 If you're not happy with the string theory explination and you want to think about it as a point particle I think charge has something to do with the spin of the particle? -- Posted by holysaiyan1 at 8:23 am on Oct. 5, 2008 Quote: from Nerdandproud at 8:42 pm on Sep. 28, 2008 If you're not happy with the string theory explination and you want to think about it as a point particle No, point particle theories have major problems, and have been scrapped long ago.   You can't think of some particles as strings that are being viewed "from far away", such that they appear as points, and think as other particles as being a true point particle.  If you view anything from far enough away, it'll look like a zero-dimensional point, regardless of its true dimensions. I think charge has something to do with the spin of the particle? No.  Charge is a fundamental property of particles.  For example, all electrons, no matter what, have a charge of -1.  If one didn't, it would not be an electron. Spin is another fundamental property, different from charge.  Basically, quantum spin is a measure of how fast all particles of a certain type spin.  For example, all electrons have a spin value of ½.  If an electron did not have a spin of ½, it would not be an electron.  Particles with spin never slow down or lose momentum, unlike spinning things at the macroscopic level. -- Posted by Elm at 2:27 pm on Oct. 6, 2008 Instead of string theory can we talk about something that is able to be tested and therefore within the realm of science and not fantasy? Thanks. -- Posted by holysaiyan1 at 4:28 pm on Oct. 7, 2008 Quote: from Elm at 5:27 pm on Oct. 6, 2008 Instead of string theory can we talk about something that is able to be tested and therefore within the realm of science and not fantasy? Thanks. If you have a better theory that fits all of the available data, then, by all means, submit it to a science journal.  You'll be the new Einstein.