Scientists believe they have found a 'fifth force of nature' – Metro.co.uk, Metro.co.uk

Scientists say they have found a fifth force of nature, that moves humanity a step closer to understanding how the universe works.

Academics at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences say they have found a new particle, which they have called ‘X 17’, that as of yet has no explanation.

The exciting new particle, which has been billed as a ‘no-brainer Nobel prize’, was discovered by the scientists as they studied how an excited helium atom emitted light as it decayed.

It is the second time that lead scientist Attila Krasznahorkay and his team had witnessed the new particle they called X 17.

The particle could be a sign of what connects the visible world with dark matter.

Mr Krasznahorkay told CNN: ‘X 17 could be a particle, which connects our visible world with the dark matter.’

The particle has been dubbed X 17 because it has a mass of 17 Megaelectronvolts.

The discovery could upend humanity’s understanding of how the universe works.

Physics centers on the theory that there are four fundamental forces – gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force, and the strong force.

Jonathan Feng, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, told CNN that, presuming the result was not an error by scientists at the university, then the chances that they are the result of something other than particle X 17, and a fifth force, are one in a trillion.

Professor Feng added that if the researchers could repeat the results then ‘this would be a no-brainer Nobel Prize’.

Dark matter is a form of matter that is believed to make up 85% of the matter in the universe.