Method of and apparatus for detecting neutrinos and antineutrinos with elastic scatterers
OwnerJoseph Weberinventor
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Abstract
A beam of neutrino or antineutrino particles is detected with a crystal containing coherent elastic scatterers for the particles. The elastic scatterers respond to the particles of the beam incident thereon by transferring momentum from the particles to mechanical momentum in the crystal. The mechanical momentum transferred to the crystal by the momentum of the particles is detected by a torsion balance carrying the crystal or a transducer on a tuning fork carrying the crystal. The beam incident on the crystal carried by the tuning fork is amplitude modulated by a chopper including several scatterers for the particles in the path of the beam.
Claims27
A method of detecting a beam of neutrino or antineutrino particles comprising the steps of placing a single crystal arranged to contain coherent elastic scatterers for said particles in a path of the beam so the beam is incident on the elastic scatterers, said scatterers responding to said particles of the beam incident thereon by transferring momentum from the particles to mechanical momentum in the crystal, and detecting the mechanical momentum transferred to the crystal from the momentum of the particles.
Apparatus for detecting a beam of neutrino or antineutrino particles comprising a single crystal arranged to contain coherent elastic scatterers for said particles, the crystal being located in a path of the beam so the beam is incident on the elastic scatterers, said scatterers responding to said particles of the beam incident thereon by transferring momentum from the particles to mechanical momentum in the crystal, and means for detecting the mechanical momentum transferred to the crystal from the momentum of the particles.
Apparatus for amplitude modulating a beam of neutrino or antineutrino particles comprising at least one crystal containing coherent scatterers for said particles in the beam, and means for moving said at least one crystal relative to the beam so the beam is successively incident on the crystal.
A method of amplitude modulating a beam of neutrino or antineutrino particles comprising the step of successively moving at least one crystal containing scatterers for the particles relative to the beam so the beam is successively incident on the crystal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.