Fifth Force of Nature Reportedly Found

A revolutionary study reveals the possibility of the fifth force of nature. A group of experimental nuclear physicists at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences claim that the fifth force is "manifestations of one grander, more fundamental force."

"For decades, we've known of four fundamental forces: gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. If confirmed by further experiments, this discovery of a possible fifth force would completely change our understanding of the universe, with consequences for the unification of forces and dark matter," stated Jonathan Feng, the study lead author and a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California.

Feng along with his colleagues were analyzing data in hopes of finding "dark photons," which could be an indicator of dark matter. Scientists believe dark matter makes up 85 percent of all matter in the entire universe. Yet, because dark matter does not absorb or emit light, scientists have yet to directly detect it.

However, the new study suggests that the Hungarians have found an unknown particle which is 30 times heavier than an electron. While it might not be a "dark photon," data collected by the Hungarians suggest it is a "protophobic X boson." This is the strange particle that may indicate the presence of the fifth force of nature.

"The experimentalists weren't able to claim that it was a new force," explained Feng, adding, "They simply saw an excess of events that indicated a new particle, but it was not clear to them whether it was a matter particle or a force-carrying particle."

This fifth force could potentially be linked to strong and weak nuclear and electromagnetic forces. Though the speculation of the fifth force of nature is quite intriguing, researchers claim that further study and experiments are needed.

For more information about the fifth force of nature, you may read the study at ArXiv.org.