A new measurement from an old experiment may have just given us a huge clue to some big unanswered questions in physics.
The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF), a particle accelerator experiment which operated until 2011, recently caused a stir by re-measuring the mass of a particle known as the 'W boson'.
Each of the four fundamental forces (the strong force, the weak force, electromagnetism and gravity) has associated particles which 'carry' the force: for example, the photon - a particle of light - is a carrier of the electromagnetic force. The W boson is one of the carriers of the weak force.
It is unusual for an experiment which stopped taking data more than a decade ago to rouse such interest. The reasons are subtle, but compelling. To see why, let's step back and see where our knowledge of the fundamental forces and constituents of matter - expressed in the so-called 'Standard Model' stands at present.
Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av BBC Science Focus.
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Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av BBC Science Focus.
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