Geoneutrino is an electron
antineutrino emitted in of a
radionuclide naturally occurring in the
Earth. Neutrinos, the lightest of the known
subatomic particles, lack measurable electromagnetic properties and interact only via the
weak nuclear force. Matter is virtually transparent to neutrinos and consequently they travel, unimpeded, at near light speed through the Earth from their point of emission. Collectively, geoneutrinos carry integrated information about the abundances of their radioactive sources inside the Earth. A major objective of the emerging field of
neutrino geophysics involves extracting geologically useful information (e.g., abundances of individual geoneutrino-producing elements and their spatial distribution in Earth’s interior) from geoneutrino measurements.