If you listen very closely, you might be able to hear the sound of physicists scratching their heads after hearing the latest news out of Fermilab in Chicago.
Researchers there set a new record by measuring the size of a fundamental particle — the W boson — far more precisely than ever before.
If a W boson were the size of an 800-pound gorilla, the new measurement would be accurate to “within a couple of ounces,” project leader Ashutosh V. Kotwal tells IE. But the accuracy of the measurement isn’t the big surprise. The finding itself is what's sure to send theoretical physicists rushing to their chalkboards.
Kotwal says the result is “in significant tension” with the Standard Model of particle physics. That means the most successful scientific theory ever might be wrong.
Of course, science requires confirmation. “While this is an intriguing result, the measurement needs to be confirmed by another experiment before it can be interpreted fully,” says Fermilab Deputy Director Joe Lykken.
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