(ORDO NEWS) — I don’t want to scare you, but a new study has been published in the scientific journal Science , which, according to its authors, can fundamentally change our understanding of the physics that underlies the entire universe.
The large-scale study, which took more than 10 years to complete, involved 400 scientists. The conclusions were based on the most precise measurement ever recorded of a particle called the W boson, which is an electrically charged particle that governs one of the most fundamental laws of the physical world: the weak force.
The only but huge problem, according to the scientists involved in the study, is that the particle is very different from what we supposedly knew about it before. This means that much of what we thought we understood about the universe could now collapse like a fragile house of cards.
“If this is a fact, and not some systematic bias or misunderstanding of how to do the calculations, then this is a serious problem, as the results of the study indicate that there is a new fundamental ingredient in our Universe that we knew nothing about,” said Harry Cliff, study participant and particle physicist at the University of Cambridge, UK.
Ashutosh Kotwal , a professor of physics at Duke University in the US who led the study, explained that it took so long to process the results because they involve analyzing a staggering 450 trillion particle collisions.
The team of researchers in their work used the best particle accelerator available at the time, the American collider Tevatron at the Enrico Fermi Laboratory, Illinois, USA. The Tevatron is no longer functioning, but the readings obtained with its help are still being processed.
Now the stunning results of the study will be cross-checked by other teams of scientists, and if their fidelity is confirmed, the discovery will forever change what we knew about the structure of the universe. Perhaps we are waiting for a painful moment of humility…
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.