Neutrino

Neutrino (pronounced noo-tree-noh, nyoo-tree-noh)

In physics, a stable elementary particle, classified as a lepton which has an extremely small (but nonzero) mass and no electric charge. Travelling at the speed of light, it interacts with the surroundings only via the weak force or gravitation, making it very difficult to detect.  Three types exist, associated with the electron, the muon, and the tau particle.  The neutrino symbol is a V.

1932: Coined by Italian physicist Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), the construct being neutr(on) + -ino.  Neutron was a formation of neutral +‎ -on (the suffix forming nouns denoting subatomic particles (proton), quanta (photon), molecular units (codon), or substances (interferon).  It was coined by Scottish-Australian physicist William Sutherland in 1899 in a paper in the Philosophical Magazine. Subsequent usage was sporadic and theoretical, sometimes referring to neutrinos rather than neutrons, and the modern sense was reintroduced by New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) in 1920.  The Italian diminutive suffix –ino (plural -ini, feminine -ina) is from the Latin -īnus, from the primitive Indo-European –iHnos (and is most comparable with the English suffix –ine).  It’s (1) an alterative suffix used to form diminutives, (2) a derivational suffix used to form adjectives or nouns, (3) used to indicate an ethnic or geographical origin, (4) used to indicate tools or instruments and (5) used to derive adjectives denoting composition, colour or other qualities.  In Italian, neutrino means “little neutron”.  Neutrino is a noun; the noun plural is neutrinos 

They're everywhere

Although not observed until 1955, Austrian-Swiss physicist Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (1900-1958) created a theoretical model in 1930 of what he called the neutron, the word modelled on electron.  He speculated his new particle was emitted from the nucleus together with the electron or beta particle in the process of decay.  The word neutrino entered the scientific lexicon after Italian–American physicist Enrico Fermi used it at a Paris conference in 1932.  Neutrinos are among the most abundant particles in the universe, billions of which produced by nuclear reactions in the sun pass through every human body on earth every second without disturbing any atoms.  An incalculable number were created fractions of a second after the Big Bang and new ones are constantly being generated, in the nuclear hearts of stars, in particle accelerators and atomic reactors on Earth, during the explosive collapse of supernovas and when radioactive elements decay. Physicists estimate, at any given point in time or space, there are a billion times more neutrinos than protons in the universe.

A perfect gift for nerds, neutrino T-shirts are available in designer colors. 

Despite their ubiquity, neutrinos remain mysterious, streaming through most matter as if they were light rays going through a transparent window, scarcely interacting with everything else in existence.  They made the headlines in 2011 when researchers in Italy suggested they had detected neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light, hitherto thought impossible.  Technical faults in the measurement were later detected and neutrinos resumed their place as cosmically law-abiding particles.  Later reports from the US indicate the possibility a fourth type (the so-called sterile neutrino) might exist; if detected, known laws of physics would have to be amended because sterile neutrinos don't fit into what's known as the Standard Model, a framework that explains almost all known particles and forces except gravity.  A new analytical framework would be required.