Physics race: scientists race to prove everything we know is wrong

All we know about physics comes from the notion that four forces of nature (electromagnetism, gravity, and two nuclear) govern atoms, which make everything around us.

Atoms are made of smaller particles, and one of those, Muons, has a strange behavior in the experiments researchers conduct in hadron colliders.

An unknown force could explain the strange behavior of muons when accelerated: scientists believe they might be close to unveiling the existence of a fifth force of nature.

More data is still necessary to confirm the existence of this force, but if it is verified, it could change the world of physics forever.

Researchers at Fermilab, a US particle accelerator facility, announced the result with recent data, building from a similar discovery the same team made in 2021.

Since then, the researchers have gathered more data to reduce the uncertainty of the original measurements, getting closer to confirming the existence of this force definitely.

Repeating the experiments and gaining more certainty about their findings is critical because discovering a fifth force of nature could change the field forever.

A fifth force would demand a change in what particle physicists call the Standard Model. It models what an atom looks like and how everything around us is made.

Thousands of physicists worldwide are rushing to find flaws in the Standard Model and change the history of their field.

Most of those groups work in CERN's Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, so the fact that the data came from an American accelerator is fueling the race, says the BBC.

Finding the fifth force or understanding why Muons behave differently could open the door to understanding some of physics' most significant mysteries, like dark energy or matter.