Scientists in Chicago say they may be closer to discovering the existence of a new force of nature. They have found more evidence that sub-atomic particles, called muons, are not behaving in the way predicted by current theory of sub-atomic physics. Scientists believe that an unknown force may be acting on the muons.
More data will be needed to confirm these results, but if they are verified, it could mark the beginning of a revolution in physics.
All the forces we experience every day can be reduced to just four categories: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force. These four fundamental forces govern how all objects and particles in the Universe interact with each other.
The findings were made at an American particle accelerator facility called Fermilab. They build on results announced in 2021, in which the Fermilab team first suggested the possibility of a fifth force of nature.
"We're really exploring new territory. We're defining measurements with better precision than has ever been seen before," Fermilab said.
In one experiment, the researchers accelerated subatomic particles called muons around a 15m-diameter ring, where they spin around 1,000 times the speed of light. The researchers discovered that they can behave in a way that cannot be explained by the current theory, which is called the Standard Model, due to the influence of a new force of nature./ BBC