Re: Is Particle Physics At Risk of Becoming Tautological?

[Ludwik Kowalski <KowalskiL@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

Ed Schweber wrote:

> But the mass of a neutrino is not determined that directly.
> When we start talking about transitions between particles
> we are making particle theory part of our data analysis.

Initial attempts to set up a limit on the mass of a neutrino
were very direct. It was simply a matter of measuring the
maximum energy of beta particles (in a magnetic spectrometer)
and comparing it with the rest masses of the initial and final
nuclei. Rest masses, by the way are also measured with high
resolution magnetic spectrometers. The result was that "the
mass of a neutrino is so small (in not zero) that we can not
measure it.

A short "no" answer to Ed's question (from somebody who
probably knows the subject very well) should be elaborated
upon for the benefits of some of us. Why was the question
asked? Why should the negative answer be accepted? Can
we deal with the topic without meeting many prerequisites?

Ludwik Kowalski