(Newswire.net — November 26, 2019) — In nature, there are four basic forces by which the exchange of energy between particles is described, and is thus responsible for the structure of the known and visible universe.
These are gravity, electromagnetic force and weak and strong nuclear force. However, Hungarian scientists claim they can prove the existence of another fundamental interaction, namely the Fifth Force, which was first discovered as a possibility in 2016.
Scientists at the Institute of Nuclear Research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences have released findings that could be an example of a fifth force that interacts with particles on a sub-atomic level and is connected with a dark energy.
Scientists have watched closely as one activated helium atom emits light as it decays. The particles spread at an unusual 115-degree angle, which cannot be explained by known physics principles today, Daily mail reports.
A New Particle
The head of the study, Professor Atila Krasznahorkay, states that this is the second time his co-workers have spotted a new particle, called X17, because they calculated its mass at 17 mega elektronvolts.
Professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, Jonathan Feng, who has closely watched Mr Krasznahorkay’s team’s efforts, said it could be a ‘game changer’, adding if it could be replicated, ‘this would be a no-brainer Nobel Prize’, the Daily Mail reports.
Research of the fifth force of physics allegedly has been ongoing since 2016. Three years ago, Hungarian scientists published a similar work in Physical Review Letters, one of the most prestigious scientific journals.
The Nuclear Physics Research Team studied how the isotope beryllium-8 is decomposed into basic particles. Even then, they noticed electrons and positrons separating from atoms at unusual angles. This insight, which showed that beryllium-8 particles were expanding at a 140-degree angle, was a mystery.
Initially, the findings of Professor Krasznahorkay’s team did not attract much attention, but professor Jonathan Feng from University of California, Irvine, showed interest and continued to follow their work, as he did not want a potentially revolutionary discovery to go unnoticed. A California physicist has developed a theory that explains these unusual findings.
Indisputable Results
These results will fundamentally change the physics we know today, unless they are a simple laboratory mistake. Professor Feng believes that the Hungarians are right, though many deny the possibility. His team has come up with a new theory based on the 2016 Hungarian study that claims the existence of the fifth force while describing it as a “photo-phobic force,” which means it is invisible. At the same time, many nuclear physicists around the world began to look for errors in the Hungarian study, but remained empty handed after many years.
Professor Feng points out that some very well-known nuclear physicists conducted subsequent tests, but the numbers coincided and no one was able to prove that the equipment was misplaced by Hungarian scientists. Feng added that his team has compared the Hungarian experiments with almost all known experiments performed in the history of physics so far. The only way to explain X17 was to define the unknown “fifth force”.
In order to develop their theory from 2016, Hungarian scientists had to repeat the results. Their latest findings from 2019 were confirmed. That’s why Feng thinks the probability of something other than X17 and a new, fifth force is highly unlikely.
The findings will be fully confirmed if another group of researchers manages to replicate these results on a third type of atom, other than beryllium and helium. Feng claims that there are already interested research teams that have contacted him.
A better knowledge of the fifth force could enable scientists to determine its correct name, to better understand its action, but also to develop practical applications and use its power. This would then bring the science closer to what was considered the “Holy Grail” of physics, which Albert Einstein aspired to, but never managed to reach.
Physicists are hoping to create a unique field theory, which will comprehensively explain all cosmic forces, ranging from galaxy formation to quark behavior. But the universe does not reveal its secrets to us so easily, which is why Professor Feng concludes that there may be a sixth, seventh and eighth force.