Quick & curious · Space

Neutrinos pass through your thumbnail.

Model of the underground neutrino detector Super-Kamiokande at a scale of 1:135, lined with light sensors
Photo: Motokoka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original

65 bnsolar neutrinos per cm² per second

The story behind it

Around 65 billion neutrinos from the Sun pass through your thumbnail every second.

They come from nuclear fusion in the Sun. Since they feel neither electromagnetic nor strong nuclear forces, they pass through matter almost unimpeded. One detector: Super-Kamiokande, 50,000 tons of water, 1 km underground.