A Primeval Force Once Ruled the Universe—and Scientists Have Revived It

 

In the very early, very hot moments of the universe, the electromagnetic and weak nuclear forces were actually the same force—the electroweak interaction.
Scientists can now study this interaction using particle accelerators, such as the LHC, and a new study recently fined tuned the precision measurements of what is known as the electroweak mixing angle, which tells us a lot—both about these forces and about how the Higgs mechanism delineates mass among particles.
This study also highlights the importance of building a future electron-positron collider (a.k.a. a “Higgs factory”), which the particle physics world considers a top priority.








Today, the universe as we know it is governed by four fundamental forces: the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, electromagnetism, and gravity. However, these four forces aren’t exactly as distinct as you think. Electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force, for example, were once the same force—the electroweak interaction.

This force only existed in the early days of the universe—or, should we say, early trillionths of a second of the universe—before the Higgs mechanism (also known fantastically as the Mexican hat mechanism, due to its shape) separated the two forces and applied mass to the Z and W bosons. Those bosons, in turn, carry the weak nuclear force, which is the thing responsible for radioactive decay. The electroweak force only existed at temperatures approaching 1015 Kelvin (about 1,800,000,000,000,000 ºF), which is why you’re not seeing much electroweak action nowadays.



Follow us on

Twitter : https://twitter.com/youngsc06963908
Linkedin- : https://www.linkedin.com/in/shravya-r...
Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/youngscienti...
Blog : https://youngscientistaward.blogspot....
Tumblur : https://www.tumblr.com/blog/shravya96

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

14 recent scientific breakthroughs

Image
1. Cell therapy for melanoma The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first cellular therapy for aggressive forms of melanoma. The treatment, called Amtagvi, is "designed to fight off advanced forms of melanoma by extracting and replicating T cells derived from a patient's tumor," said NPR. These cells are also called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). T cells are integral in the immune system but can become "dysfunctional inside tumors." "The approval of Amtagvi represents the culmination of scientific and clinical research efforts leading to a novel T cell immunotherapy for patients with limited treatment options," Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. The treatment won't work for everyone, but research by the National Institutes of Health showed a "56% response rate among patients with melanoma, and 24% of patients had a complete disappearance of
Read more

8th Edition of International Young Scientist Awards

Image
  8th Edition of International Young Scientist Awards The Magic of Rainbows: Unveiling Nature's Miracles The term "rainbow" refers to a meteorological phenomenon that appears as a circular arc of multicolored light in the sky. It occurs when sunlight is refracted, or bent, by water droplets in the air, such as raindrops or mist. Rainbows typically form when there are rain showers or storms with sunlight breaking through the clouds. he colors of a rainbow are usually seen in a specific order, from top to bottom: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This order of colors can be remembered using the acronym "ROYGBIV." Each color corresponds to a different wavelength of light, and the bending of light causes the separation and dispersion of these colors, creating the distinct rainbow pattern. Rainbows are usually seen as semicircles, with the center of the circle below the horizon. However, when observed from high altitudes, such as from an airplane
Read more

6th Edition of International Young Scientist Awards

Image
  What is climate change? A really simple guide Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. Climate change is a shift in those average conditions. The rapid climate change we are now seeing is caused by humans using oil, gas and coal for their homes, factories and transport. When these fossil fuels burn, they release greenhouse gases - mostly carbon dioxide (CO2). These gases trap the Sun's heat and cause the planet's temperature to rise. The world is now about 1.1C warmer than it was in the 19th Century - and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen by 50% Extreme weather events are already more intense across the globe, threatening lives and livelihoods. With further warming, some regions could become uninhabitable, as farmland turns into desert. East Africa just saw its fifth season of failed rains, which the UN's World Food Programme says has put up to 22 million people at risk of severe hunger. Extreme temperatures can also increase the risk of wild
Read more