The fifth force of nature discovery by researchers will revolutionize how scientists view and approach nature. The discovery was made when working with Lithium-7 isotopes which produce beryllium-8.
Scientists in Hungary may have discovered a fifth force of nature. Hungary’s Atomki Nuclear Research Institute indicated that these findings are solid evidence of the existence of a fifth force of nature that had not been known until now.
Scientists have long speculated on the existence of such a force that would add up to the four fundamental forces that govern the universe.
Four fundamental forces of nature
The four fundamental forces include gravitational and electromagnetic forces. These forces produce significant long-range interactions whose effects are felt in everyday life. The other two forces are strong interaction forces and weak interaction forces. These are the forces that govern nuclear physics.
Scientists speculation of the fifth force of nature has also involved hunting the proof of the dark matter, which has eluded them for a century. The dark matter is believed to make up to 85 percent of the mass in the universe. This theoretical hypothesis, however, is yet to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Discovery of the fifth force of nature
Attila Krasznahorkay and his colleagues at Atomki first noted some anomaly during the radioactive decay of beryllium-8, an unstable isotope. The results of this anomaly were reported in 2015.
During the 2015 study, they were firing protons at the isotope Lithium-7. This lithium isotope is responsible for creating beryllium-8. They found out that the light emissions had anomaly and produced tiny ‘bumps’ that were as a result of the electrons and positrons pushing from each other at exactly 140 degrees.
Protophobic X boson acts over microscopic distances
This discovery would later be repeated and confirmed in the same lab and then duplicated in the US, where it produced the same results. Scientists speculate that during these atoms decays, the excess energy is able to create a new unknown particle that almost immediately decays into a recognizable positron and electron pair.
The unknown particle, commonly known as protophobic X boson, is believed to carry the force that acts over microscopic distances the size of the atomic nucleus.
The particle has been named X17, as its mass is calculated to be 17 megaelectronvolts.
This research is still in its infancy and scientists are speculating that it will help them gain a better insight into the universe. The study is in progress and more tests are being done.
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