Physicists May Have Discovered The Fifth Force Of Nature; Could Provide Answers To The Elusive Dark Matter [VIDEO]
ByPhysicists at the University of California, Irvine claimed to have found evidence indicating the existence of a fifth fundamental for of nature, which could reshape humankind's understanding on how the universe works the way it does.
The team of theoretical physicists at UC Irvine claimed that the team discovered a small, unseen form of energy carried by a particle, of which is currently named "Boson X," the Los Angeles Times reported.
"Boson X" as it stands, could alter the basic model which scientists over the years have carefully arranged to best explain how the universe works, or at least, partially how it interacts with itself.
Currently, there are only four recognized fundamental forces that govern our universe, as laid down by generations of scientists. The forces are gravitation, electromagnetism, as well as strong and weak nuclear forces.
Gravitation, as currently understood, governs from how galaxies form its shapes to how solar systems form and ultimately down to how object space itself with surrounding bodies. The third and fourth fundamental force, strong and weak nuclear forces, govern how subatomic particles behave and interact with one another.
As the team of theoretical physicists pointed out, the potentially new force of nature may be considered a byproduct of the second force of nature, electromagnetism, UCI News reported.
Electromagnetism defines the interaction between subatomic particles which points out how electrons interact with protons, which ignores neutrons, on the contrary the new force of nature may uncover how electrons interact with neutrons, which leaves protons to be ignored.
The recent study was inspired by the experiments conducted by Hungarian researchers a few years back, whom were looking for the elusive "dark photon," which could possibly explain the existence and properties of dark matter, as well as dark energy, according to EarthSky.
The Hungarian scientists have found what now scientists call a "protophobic X Boson," instead of the invisible dark photon. The yet to be classified boson X particle shows a unique characteristic where it interacts exclusively with electrons and neutrons, which no other known particle from the basic model have demonstrated.
Modern scientists claim that the universe's mass is mostly comprised of dark matter, which ranks up to 85 percent. It is yet to be confirmed by a different team of scientists, as well as a collective of individual research teams to include the proposed new force of nature.
