While this news sounds like something one might hear in an Iron Man sequel, researchers believe they may have discovered a new particle, or force of nature. An atom smasher (something I must admit that I’ve never even heard of) from Fermilab physics laboratory in Batavia, Illinois called the Tevatron (which sounds like an extra from Transformers) has stimulated thousands of particle collisions, making what scientists believe may be a new particle.
It should be noted that these findings are not conclusive, and that the new particle has yet to be proven for sure. If it proves to be true, however, it means big news for the science community. It may result in the complete transformation of cosmology and high energy physics, say some researchers.
Other physicists are not very impressed, citing the findings as something interesting but far from being proven yet. “The experimenters need more data. If the signal does hold up at the five standard deviation level, it is an indication of something beyond the range of what we expected,” says scientist Eugene W. Beier.
That said, the “level of statistical significance in the data now is just over three standard deviations,” which means that it’s closer to being proven than any random finding.