Scientists can’t figure out what force made this subatomic particle move

The laws of the quantum realm are nothing like anything you learn in an ordinary physics class. A rock is predictable: if you drop it, it falls to the floor. But a quantum object, say, an electron, can jump around, teleport, and be in multiple places at once. It’s like Neo in The Matrix: In the normal world, Neo can only do as much as you or I. But in the matrix, he can walk through walls, freeze bullets, bend spoons, and a bunch of other wacky stuff.

The smaller things get, the weirder they behave. And the quantum world is the smallest you can get.

But even in the quantum world, there are rules. Sure, they’re weird and wacky rules, but they’re still rules. And rules must be followed. Unless they’re broken.

Recently, something insanely crazy happened in the quantum realm. And by that, I mean something unusual even for the unusual itself. Rules were broken. At least, that’s what some claim. Scientists at Fermilab were observing the wobble of a muon, and their discovery could bend physics as we know it.

Let’s start with the basics. In our universe, there are 17 types of elementary particles, which are divided into 3 categories:

1. Leptons
2. Quarks
3. Bosons

In addition, there are 4 forces in the universe (as far as we know):

1. The strong force (nuclear bomb stuff)
2. The weak force (yes, yes, very creative names)
3. Electromagnetism (electricity + magnetism = electromagnetism)
4. And last as well as least, gravity (not the movie)

So that just about sums up the known universe. 4 forces, 17 elementary particles.

A Muon is an elementary particle. Muons are very similar to electrons: They both have a negative charge, and they both belong to the family of Leptons. The main difference is that Muons are a lot fatter than electrons. Or more scientifically, approximately 207 times more massive. (no offense, muons)

So, these fat Muons like to wobble. “Wobble” scientifically means just what it sounds like: to jiggle from side to side. And when the scientists set out to observe this wobble, they found something completely unexpected: the Muon was wobbling more than we expected. And they have no idea why.

It’s kind of like when it’s the middle of the night, you get up to go get a glass of water, and the doors start creaking. You’d be convinced there was a ghost, right? (No, just me?) Anyway, you know that you weren’t moving the door, and your brother wasn’t moving the door, and the wind wasn’t moving the door, so it had to be a ghost. That’s exactly what happened to a bunch of scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Except instead of a door creaking, it was a Muon wobbling. And instead of a bedroom in the middle of the night, it was in this very fancy, sciencey-looking particle accelerator:

Something moved that Muon, but they aren’t sure what.

This means, there could maybe possibly probably be another force in the universe.

If there does turn out to be a 5th force of the universe, it would be huge. Bigger than you think: however big you think this could be, think bigger. Here’s why.

I’m no expert at chess, but I’m going to make this chess reference anyways, so bear with me: Imagine the 17 particles of our universe are chess pieces, and the 4 forces of our universe are the rules controlling how the pieces move. Now, imagine if those rules changed. Imagine bishops could move back and forth. Imagine pawns could leap like horses. The game we all thought we knew completely changes. That’s what’s going to happen to our current understanding of the universe if all of this crazy ‘5th force’ stuff turns out to be true.

Let me remind you about all the cool things that happen after we discover a new force:

When we discovered gravity, we were able to design rockets that sent humans to the moon. When we discovered electromagnetism, we were able to make phones and computers and all those epic gizmos that spoil our eyes. When we discovered the strong force, we were able to make nuclear bombs (on second thought, maybe that one was better left undiscovered).

Who knows what’s next? Sometimes the coolest sci-fi movies can play out for real, in a galaxy not so far away.