Posted on 02/24/2013 4:51:43 PM PST by BenLurkin
Try using the entire Earth to hunt for a new fundamental force of nature.
So say Larry Hunter of Amherst College in Massachusetts, and colleagues. They have created a map of the spins of electrons deep within the Earth's mantle, which could be used to reveal the as-yet-unseen force as well as the strange particles known as "unparticles" that might carry it.
We currently know of four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces. The hypothetical fifth force can be thought of as a version of magnetism that does not weaken as quickly with distance.
Electromagnetic fields are produced when two particles exchange virtual photons that pop in and out of existence. But some physicists think another kind of virtual particle could also be exchanged, giving rise to a fifth fundamental force.
One candidate is the unparticle, a mysterious entity dreamed up several years ago. It has an unusual trait: its mass varies depending on the way we measure it, due to a property called scale invariance. As a result, unparticle exchange would not drop off as quickly as electromagnetism with distance potentially giving rise to measureable long-range effects.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
For a moment, thought they were looking for...
My thought on the scientist is "Hi, we're going to borrow your planet for a quick physics experiment. K?"
/johnny
bookmark
I was guessing that the article would be about the force that is causing the galaxies to accelerate away from each other.
Ether?
Big Bada Boom!
magnetism = crystallized gravity.
Bingo + 1
Six for six
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