Fifth Force to be Reckoned With

Standard Model of Elementary Particles  (Chart by Miss MJ)

Recalling high-school physics, there are four fundamental forces of nature: electromagnetism, gravity, the nuclear strong force and the nuclear weak force.

As if these four weren’t difficult enough to understand, scientists are now hinting at a fifth.  Researchers from the University of California at Irvine “say they’ve found evidence” of a force that is somewhat like electromagnetism.  The would-be fifth force “works between electrons and neutrons,” rather than between electrons and protons.

This newly-discovered force may help to solve the ongoing mystery of dark matter, which comprises “nearly 27 percent of the universe’s mass-energy density.”  Since what we call “normal matter” comprises “less than 5 percent” of that same total, our cosmic ignorance seems to far exceed our scientific knowledge.

Resources

http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Did-physicists-discover-previously-unknown-fifth-9156082.php

Copyright August 18, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved