Is there a fifth force of nature? For almost 100 years scientists have suspected “ghost particles” are moving things in mysterious ways. Now we might be about to find them.
Elusive ‘ghost’ in particle machine captured!
Is there a fifth force of nature? For almost 100 years scientists have suspected "ghost particles" are moving things in mysterious ways. Now we might be about to find them.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">What's happening? </h2>
Subatomic particlesThe minuscule pieces of matter that make up atoms. Scientists have discovered 36 so far. are the tiny pieces of matter that make up atomsThe smallest unit of any chemical element.. In the 1930s, scientists suggested that there may be special versions of these particles called "ghost particles". And now we might be about to see them for the very first time.
Ghost particles are believed to be particles that behave like no other. They are not made up of ordinary matter and so they can pass through other things.
So how do you spot something that cannot be touched? Scientists think that in some rare conditions, these ghost particles turn into ordinary particles.
To watch this, researchers at the European particle research centre CernThe European Organisation for Nuclear Research is the scientific body in charge of the Large Hadron Collider. will smash particles into a hard surface and see if the instrument can spot the ghosts as they turn into ordinary particles.
The discovery of ghost particles could get scientists closer to one of the biggest prizes in physics: the fifth force of nature.
In our current understanding of physics, there are four forces of nature. They are gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force.
The problem is that the universe is full of things that we cannot explain using just these four forces. For example, we would expect that after the Big BangThe moment the universe came into being. It is thought that this took place in a kind of explosion from a dimensionless singularity., the growth of the universeEverything. Including all of time and space and its contents. would start to slow down. Instead, it is actually speeding up. Finding "ghost particles" could take us one step further to explaining how the universe works.
Is there a fifth force of nature?
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Yes! We only know a very tiny amount about what goes on in the universe. There must be more that we do not understand yet. Otherwise we would already be able to explain everything!
No! The four forces we do know about might just work in ways we have not yet discovered.
Subatomic particles - The minuscule pieces of matter that make up atoms. Scientists have discovered 36 so far.
Atoms - The smallest unit of any chemical element.
CERN - The European Organisation for Nuclear Research is the scientific body in charge of the Large Hadron Collider.
Big Bang - The moment the universe came into being. It is thought that this took place in a kind of explosion from a dimensionless singularity.
Universe - Everything. Including all of time and space and its contents.
Elusive ‘ghost’ in particle machine captured!

Glossary
Subatomic particles - The minuscule pieces of matter that make up atoms. Scientists have discovered 36 so far.
Atoms - The smallest unit of any chemical element.
CERN - The European Organisation for Nuclear Research is the scientific body in charge of the Large Hadron Collider.
Big Bang - The moment the universe came into being. It is thought that this took place in a kind of explosion from a dimensionless singularity.
Universe - Everything. Including all of time and space and its contents.