Theoretical physicists at the University of California, Irvine, or UCI, have announced the possible discovery of a fifth force.
Theoretical physicists at the University of California, Irvine, or UCI, have announced the possible discovery of a fifth force of nature.
Said Professor Jonathan Feng, “If true, it’s revolutionary. For decades, we’ve known of four fundamental forces: gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. If confirmed by further experiments, this discovery of a possible fifth force would completely change our understanding of the universe, with consequences for the unification of forces and dark matter.”
The potential for such a monumental find emerged when researchers were reviewing a 2015 study conducted at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
According to a UCI news release, the team made note of a, “…radioactive decay anomaly that points to the existence of a light particle just 30 times heavier than an electron.”
They further investigated and, after ruling out dark matter and matter particles, posed their fifth force theory in April.
In a subsequent analysis published on Friday, the researchers, according to UCI, suggest, “…the particle may be a ‘protophobic X boson.’ While the normal electric force acts on electrons and protons, this newfound boson interacts only with electrons and neutrons – and at an extremely limited range.”