New evidence of particles could change the way we understand the universe
By Seth Borenstein
article
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory(Fermilab) and Robert R. Wilson's "Acqua Alle Funi" sculpture, in Batavia, Illinois on MAY 12, 2013. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Preliminary results from two experiments suggest something could be wrong with the basic way physicists think the universe works, a prospect that has the field of particle physics both baffled and thrilled.
Tiny particles called muons aren’t quite doing what is expected of them in two different long-running experiments in the United States and Europe. The confounding results — if proven right — reveal major problems with the rulebook physicists use to describe and understand how the universe works at the subatomic level.