From Julian Mann
Kate McAlpine clearly explained the issues surrounding the standard model of particle physics (22 May, p 40).
However, in view of the considerable successes it has already achieved, it is more likely that the model needs to be extended rather than demolished. Also, it is likely that such an extension would unify and explain all the major unresolved questions in cosmology and quantum mechanics: gravity, mass, dark matter and dark energy.
The proposed Higgs boson seems to have little credibility as an explanation for mass, given that most of the energy range where it is supposed to reside has already been tested.
Only the existence of a substantial amount of antimatter, locked in an alternate quantum phase (as dark matter) can possibly satisfy all these unresolved questions.
Advertisement
London, UK
