Scientists Just Discovered a Major “Hole” in the Standard Model of Particle Physics
Scientists Just Discovered a Major “Hole” in the Standard Model of Particle Physics
The long-awaited results from Fermilab’s g-2 experiment are finally here…and they confirm that the Standard Model—you know, the one that aims to explain the forces that shape our universe—may need some major reworking.
The muon is one of 12 elementary particles described by the Standard Model. This model aims to understand how each of these particles is affected by the universe’s four known forces—the strong, weak, gravitational, and electromagnetic. These twelve particles are divided into quarks and leptons, which are each further divided into six distinct “flavors.” Like electrons, muons are just one “flavor” of leptons.
They also spin like a top and have a negative charge, meaning they’re able to generate their own magnetic field. So, when a muon’s internal “magnet” is exposed to a strong external magnetic field—like one produced by, say, a particle accelerator—the muon starts to wobble.
The rate of this wobble is what physicists call its “g-factor,” or magnetic moment.
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