Smashing time (Image: Kerrcom Multimedia)
TWO teams working at the Tevatron particle smasher in Batavia, Illinois, have found hints of a new generation of fundamental particles – to add to the three generations we already know about. What’s so special about these new particles?
If they really do exist, they might explain a long-standing puzzle – how the universe avoided self-destruction in its earliest moments after the big bang.
First a rundown on what we know already. Each of the three known generations of matter contains two types of fundamental particle – quarks and leptons. First generation leptons include the familiar electron…
