Skip to main content
Home
plus.maths.org

Secondary menu

  • My list
  • About Plus
  • Sponsors
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Log in
  • Main navigation

  • Home
  • Articles
  • Collections
  • Podcasts
  • Maths in a minute
  • Puzzles
  • Videos
  • Topics and tags
  • For

    • cat icon
      Curiosity
    • newspaper icon
      Media
    • graduation icon
      Education
    • briefcase icon
      Policy

    Popular topics and tags

    Shapes

    • Geometry
    • Vectors and matrices
    • Topology
    • Networks and graph theory
    • Fractals

    Numbers

    • Number theory
    • Arithmetic
    • Prime numbers
    • Fermat's last theorem
    • Cryptography

    Computing and information

    • Quantum computing
    • Complexity
    • Information theory
    • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
    • Algorithm

    Data and probability

    • Statistics
    • Probability and uncertainty
    • Randomness

    Abstract structures

    • Symmetry
    • Algebra and group theory
    • Vectors and matrices

    Physics

    • Fluid dynamics
    • Quantum physics
    • General relativity, gravity and black holes
    • Entropy and thermodynamics
    • String theory and quantum gravity

    Arts, humanities and sport

    • History and philosophy of mathematics
    • Art and Music
    • Language
    • Sport

    Logic, proof and strategy

    • Logic
    • Proof
    • Game theory

    Calculus and analysis

    • Differential equations
    • Calculus

    Towards applications

    • Mathematical modelling
    • Dynamical systems and Chaos

    Applications

    • Medicine and health
    • Epidemiology
    • Biology
    • Economics and finance
    • Engineering and architecture
    • Weather forecasting
    • Climate change

    Understanding of mathematics

    • Public understanding of mathematics
    • Education

    Get your maths quickly

    • Maths in a minute

    Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
  • Collections
  • Podcasts
  • Maths in a minute
  • Puzzles
  • Videos
  • Topics and tags
  • Audiences

    • cat icon
      Curiosity
    • newspaper icon
      Media
    • graduation icon
      Education
    • briefcase icon
      Policy

    Secondary menu

  • My list
  • About Plus
  • Sponsors
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Log in
  • Have physicists discovered a fifth force of nature?

    27 October, 2023
    Ben Allanach

    Ben Allanach

    In the summer we came across news coverage claiming that scientist were on the verge of discovering a fundamental force of nature they hadn't previously known about. This would be a fifth force, in addition to gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces.

    Such a discovery would be quite a revolution, so we went to talk to our friend Ben Allanach, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, to find out more. Ben explained the science, gave us his personal hunch regarding the experimental results, and provided a fascinating glimpse into life at the cutting edge of physics.

    To find out more about the topics explored in this podcast, see The physics of elementary particles and A brief introduction to quantum field theory. Click here to see all our content featuring Ben Allanach.

    • Log in or register to post comments
    You can listen to the podcast using the player above, and you can listen and subscribe to our podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and through most other podcast providers via podbean.

    Read more about...

    theoretical physics
    physics
    fundamental forces
    elementary particle
    quantum field theory
    University of Cambridge
    University of Cambridge logo

    Plus is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.
    Copyright © 1997 - 2025. University of Cambridge. All rights reserved.

    Terms