the universe is saturated with things to discover and to know but there are mysteries so hard to
crack that it keeps some physicists awake at night what if scientists have been wrong
about what they have believed to be true for years there are unknowns with huge implications staring
in the face of physicists can they ever be able to be known number five does the graviton exist
the standard model is one of the most accepted theories that we have that attempts to describe
and understand certain aspects of our universe this model describes the world of particle
physics by breaking down the types of elementary particles into two main categories of particles
some particles will be classified as a fermion which are known to have half in turgis spin while
others will be classified as bosons that have a whole integral spin fermions are particles that
make up physical matter like quirks and electrons while bosuns are the particles that facilitate the
interaction of forces and other ways that matter behaves the electromagnetic force is carried by
the photon the weak force by the w and z bosons and the strong force by the different types of
gluons but one fundamental force has yet to have its particle partner identified gravity in an
attempt to merge quantum mechanics and gravity physicists introduced a theoretical particle
called the graviton that carries the gravitational force discovery of a graviton would push physics
one step closer to a complete standard model and a better understanding of how gravity behaves
unfortunately the graviton has never been found even using the best equipment we have today its
continuing elusiveness is beginning to worry some scientists who think that they may need to look
elsewhere to unlock the mysteries of gravity and finally merge it with the rest of quantum theory
if the graviton can't be found what will that mean for the standard model and of our understanding of
forces would everything have to be revisited number four where our universe's fundamental
constants come from why do they have the values that they do and how did they get them anyone
who's studied physics in grade school has come across fundamental constants that are vital in
many of the formulas and theories are used to describe our world we are familiar with the speed
of light being constant around 186 000 miles per second but there are other constants dimensionless
constants that sit at the very heart of the universe's makeup that have no units associated
with them for instance the fine structure constant is a constant with a value of 0.007297
but why this number what is the significance of why does it show up in the equations and laws of
physics so often this particular constant shows up in electromagnetism and actually governs the
strength of magnetic interactions constants like this one show up everywhere in physics
but no one really knows where they come from they just appear in the math used to explain our
physical world could these values be the most basic building blocks of our entire universe
some scientists think so a new theory being presented argues that the universe can be fully
built on the backs of just seven fundamental constants while playing around with the models
that simulate the growth of the universe researchers decided to see what would happen
if these constants were different it turns out that these values are essential to our existence
in nearly every simulation with these constants of different values led to a dead empty universe
number three can consciousness be explained with physics since the dawn of scientific
inquiry thousands of years ago humans have attempted to understand and explain everything we
experience in our reality ironically one of the largest mysteries that has yet to be understood
may have been part of every human since the birth of our species consciousness what is consciousness
what allows our brains to process information in the way that it does what had to change in order
for us to gain self-awareness the advent of modern technology has allowed us to measure and map the
brain clearer than ever before but the mystery of consciousness exists there have been many who
put forward theories as to what consciousness is some involving forms of religion different types
of spirituality or even a quantum level connection to a universe wide web the goal of physics is to
know our universe and how it functions there must be a way of understanding how everything
works on a physical level if you were to look close enough many believe that consciousness
must come from physical processes in the brain within the connection of neurons combined with
the electric pulses they communicate with but even with the capabilities of our instruments today
there has been no definitive evidence as to where these mysterious feature of our minds come from
is the origin and function of consciousness stuck in the realm of unknown ability or will
science advance to the point that we will be able to unlock its mysteries number two
can we fully understand quantum mechanics it wasn't until the early 1900s the physicists
were first introduced into the strange and unintuitive world of the quantum realm
turns out that as we look further into the ultra small scales of the universe it seems to just get
weirder and weirder in the macro world we can throw a ball and predict where it will end up
after a given amount of time but it's not that easy in the world of the very small the rules
and laws that we have learned govern our reality seem to break down or completely change at the
scale of subatomic particles and interactions one of the greatest american physicist richard fehmann
once said that if you think you understand quantum mechanics you don't understand quantum mechanics
most of us are familiar with the double slit experiment if you're not check out one of our
earlier videos diving into the weird phenomenon of quantum superstition this experiment is a classic
example of quantum weirdness it was down to the fact that by measuring and observing which slit
the particle went through the researchers caused the particles being fired at the slits to behave
differently instead of acting as a wave of potentials moving through both slits
the wave function collapses and the particles act like a small marble and only travel through one
slit are our interactions with the world required for particles to exist as a physical particle
rather than a wave of probability physicists have thus far been able to understand some of
the earlier conundrums that plagued the original founders of quantum physics but there are still
vast areas of quantum world that remain a complete mystery will we ever be able to understand
quantum interactions fully or are there simply parts of it that can never be understood
number one can all the fundamental forces be unified into one within our universe there
are four fundamental forces that dictate every single interaction that occurs the four forces
electromagnetism gravity the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force or the weak interaction
exist throughout our universe holding everything we know together for the most part we only notice
our interactions with the two forces that have strong effects on the macroscopic world
electromagnetism and gravity in our everyday lives the strong and weak nuclear forces only
work on the very small scale holding quarks and particles together in order to form
atoms but new experiments taking place in the large hadron collider have shown physicists
that these forces may not be separate after all there have already been tests that have
shown the electromagnetic force and the weak nuclear force unifying into a single force
the results also hint that the same unification should happen with the strong nuclear force at
high enough energy levels but just because the theories say they should happen doesn't mean
that it will nature does not always listen to what the leading theories have to say about it and no
particular accelerator in existence is powerful enough to reach the energy levels necessary for
the strong force to unify with electromagnetism and the weak interaction and that still leaves out
gravity could the gravitational force be unified to the other three in this same way remember that
gravity is the only force that we have yet to find a corresponding boson for if the graviton
doesn't exist it may mean that gravity is wholly different from the other forces and requires a
different type of understanding a large part of the community continues to believe that the forces
must fit together in some way and are expanding on their theoretical and experimental models are we
one step closer to forming a unified theory of all the forces or will science be disappointed with
a never-ending hunt for an impossible solution thanks for watching leave us a comment down below
and let us know if there are any mysteries that keep you up at night see you next time on mata