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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityScience & EnvironmentCern: Scientists search for mysterious ghost particlesPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, VICTOR de SCHWANBERG/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARYImage caption, Artwork: Ghost particles can’t currently be detectedBy Pallab GhoshScience correspondentSome physicists have long suspected that mysterious ‘ghost’ particles in the world around us could greatly advance our understanding of the true nature of the Universe.Now scientists think they’ve found a way to prove whether or not they exist.Europe’s centre for particle research, Cern, has approved an experiment designed to find evidence for them.The new instrument will be a thousand times more sensitive to such particles than previous devices.It will smash particles into a hard surface to detect them instead of against each other like Cern’s main device the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).New atom-smasher could spark physics revolutionScientists closer to solving mystery of antimatterAstronomers crack 37-year cosmic ‘murder mystery’So what are these ghostly particles and why was a new approach needed to detect them?The current theory of particle physics is called the Standard Model. It says that everything in the Universe is made up of a family of 17 particles – well known ones such as the electron and the Higgs boson – as well as the lesser known but wonderfully named charm quark, tau neutrino and gluon.Some are mixed up in different combinations to make up the larger, but still incredibly small, particles that make up the world around us, as well as the stars and galaxies we see in space, while others are involved in the forces of nature.But there’s a problem: astronomers have noticed things in the heavens – the way galaxies move, for example – that strongly suggest that all that we can observe makes up just five per cent of the Universe.Some, or even all the rest of the Universe, could be made up of the ‘ghost’ or ‘hidden’ particles. They are thought to be phantom doppelgangers of the 17 particles of the Standard Model.If they exist, they are really hard to detect because they very rarely interact with the world we know. Like ghosts, they pass straight through everything, and can’t be detected by any earthly device.But the theory is that the ghost particles can disintegrate into Standard Model particles, and these can be picked up by detectors.Instead of colliding particles together, which most current experiments do, the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) will crash them into a big block of material. This means that all the particles are smashed into smaller bits – rather than some of them. The diagram below shows why this ‘fixed target’ approach is so much more effective.Image source, BBC NewsThe project’s ghostbuster-in-chief, Prof Andrey Golutvin of Imperial College London said that the experiment “marks a new era in the search for hidden particles”.”SHiP has the unique possibility to solve several of the major problems of particle physics, and we have the prospect of discovering particles that have never been seen before,” he said.The hunt for ghost particles requires specially adapted equipment.With normal experiments, using the Large Hadron Collider, for example, new particles can be detected up to a metre from the collision. But the ghost particles can remain invisible and travel several tens or even hundreds of meters before they disintegrate and reveal themselves. So SHiP’s detectors are placed much further away.’We are explorers’Prof Mitesh Patel of Imperial College described the new approach as “ingenious”.”What really appeals to me about the experiment is that these particles are right under our noses, but we have never been able to see them because of the way they interact, or rather the way they don’t interact.”We are explorers, and we believe that we can see something interesting in this new terrain. So, we have to take a look.”SHiP will be built within existing facilities at Cern, according to Dr Claudia Ahdida, a physicist at Cern.”We will be making use of an existing cavern and infrastructure and parts that we will try and re-use as much as possible and what we will have is a facility that will help us search for this hidden sector, which has not been seen before,” she said.SHiP will run alongside all of Cern’s other experiments, the largest of which is the Large Hadron Collider, which has been searching for the missing 95% of the Universe since it was completed in 2008 at a cost of £3.75bn. So far it hasn’t found any non-Standard Model particles, and so the plan is to build a machine that is three times larger and much more powerful.The Future Circular Collider has an estimated initial cost of £12bn. Its planned start date is sometime in the mid-2040s, though it won’t be at its full new particle-hunting potential until 2070.By contrast, the SHiP experiment is scheduled to start looking for new particles in 2030 and will be around a hundred times cheaper at around £100m. But researchers say that all approaches are needed to explore all the possible options in order to find the particles that they say would lead to one of the biggest breakthroughs in physics of all time.Follow Pallab on X, formerly known as Twitter.Inside the atom-smasherPallab Ghosh and Kate Stephens go inside the biggest particle accelerator in the world to find out why scientists want an even larger one.Available now on BBC iPlayerRelated TopicsPhysicsParticle physicsMore on this storyNew atom-smasher could spark physics revolutionPublished5 FebruaryScientists close in on fifth force of naturePublished10 August 2023Related Internet LinksCernThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Top StoriesRussia charges four men over Moscow concert attackPublished1 hour agoRosenberg: As Russia mourns, how will Putin react to concert attack?Published2 hours agoTriple lock for pensions stays if we win election, says HuntPublished11 hours agoFeaturesIs now the time Palestinian politics can start afresh?Did Russia ignore US ‘extremist’ attacks warning?The Brazilian teen who scored winner against EnglandAttributionSportYour pictures on the theme of ‘reflections’‘Having a certificate of loss proves my baby existed’Kate cancer diagnosis rewrites story of past weeksSimon Harris – the man on the brink of Irish history England kits ‘should connect people’From the desert to the icy waters of WalesElsewhere on the BBCWhy do people behave the way they do on social media?Marianna Spring investigates extraordinary cases of online hate to find out…AttributioniPlayerCritically acclaimed and utterly compelling…Masterful, claustrophobic drama starring Sofie Gråbøl as a troubled prison guardAttributioniPlayerFrom triumph to tragedy…After more than 30 years of service, America’s space shuttle took to the skies for the last timeAttributioniPlayerCan new evidence solve aviation’s greatest mystery?Ten years after the Malaysian Airlines flight disappeared, new technology may explain whyAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Russia charges four men over Moscow concert attack2Passenger overboard from cruise ship, firm says3Murder arrest at Heathrow after man hit by car4The Jewish settlers who want to build homes in Gaza5Scientists to hunt mysterious ‘ghost’ particles6Rosenberg: As Russia mourns, how will Putin react to concert attack?7Avanti to pay train drivers £600 a shift for overtime8’China hack attack’ and ‘UK nuclear defence boost’9Boy, 12, charged with attempted murder10Tony Blackburn hangs up his local radio headphones
[ad_1] Physicists believe a new experiment could prove their existence and answer fundamental questions about our Universe.
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIgor Girkin shot down a passenger jet, then insulted Putin. Which one put him in jail?Published1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsWar in UkraineImage source, MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockImage caption, Igor Girkin has escaped justice for downing flight MH17 but is going to jail after criticising Vladimir PutinBy Steve RosenbergRussia Editor, MoscowThe last time I saw Igor Girkin was five years ago in the stairwell of a Moscow news agency.”Would you consider giving me an interview?” I asked. “No,” he replied sharply and scurried away.I saw him again today. No stairwell. This time, Girkin was in a caged dock surrounded by police in the Moscow City Court. Along with other media we were allowed in to film him for just one minute before the end of his trial. A police dog kept barking. Girkin found that amusing. The verdict less so. Minutes later he was found guilty on extremism charges and sentenced to four years in a penal colony. This wasn’t his first conviction. In The Hague in 2022, in absentia, Girkin was found guilty of the murder of 298 people: the passengers and crew of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. The Boeing jet had been shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 by Russian-controlled forces in the early stages of Russia’s war there. Girkin was one of three men sentenced to life imprisonment. A judgement he ignored.A year after we’d met in the stairwell, I managed to get through to Girkin on the phone and ask him about the Hague. “I do not recognise the authority of the Dutch court on this matter,” he told me. “I am a military man and I am not going to accept that a civilian court in a foreign country has the authority to convict a person who took part in someone else’s civil war, only because their civilians were killed.”Do you know who shot down [the plane]?””The rebels didn’t shoot down the Boeing. I have nothing more to say.”This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Russian rebel commander Igor Girkin told the BBC in 2020 he did not recognise the court’s authority”If it wasn’t the rebels, then was it Russian soldiers?” I asked.”That’s it. Goodbye.” He hung up. Now he is going to prison. But not for mass murder. And not for life. So, who exactly is Girkin – also known under his pseudonym as Igor Strelkov – and why has a Moscow court sent him to jail?He is a former FSB officer in Russia’s domestic security service. In 2014 he played a key role in the fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region: a conflict engineered and orchestrated by Moscow.He organised and commanded pro-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine. The Dutch court would later rule that Russia had been in control of the separatist forces fighting in eastern Ukraine and that Girkin had helped to bring the Buk missile system into Ukraine that was used to shoot down flight MH17. Three guilty of downing airliner over UkrainePutin critic Girkin wants Russia presidential runFollowing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, ultranationalist Girkin became a prominent pro-war blogger. He became increasingly critical of the way the Russian authorities were waging the war: not hard enough, in his view. He founded a hard line nationalist movement called The Club of Angry Patriots. His problems began when he started to take that anger out on President Vladimir Putin. Public criticisms of the Russian president turned to insults. In a post last year, Girkin described Putin as “a non-entity” and “a cowardly waste of space”. A few days later he was arrested. Now he’s been tried and convicted. Of course, a four-year prison sentence is mild in comparison to other recent punishments delivered by Russian courts. Last year pro-democracy activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to a quarter of a century behind bars after being convicted of treason, a case he and his supporters insist was politically motivated.Putin critic jailed for 25 years in Russia’Send back our husbands’ – Russian women in rare protestHow would the “Angry Patriots” react to Girkin’s prison term? Would they pour on to the streets in protest? Image source, MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockImage caption, Some of Girkin supporters were detained outside the court in MoscowNot exactly. A few dozen supporters gathered outside the Moscow City Court to chant “Freedom to Strelkov!” but there was little hint of optimism in their voices. “They’ve put a Russian national patriot on trial,” Denis tells me. “I hope our people wake up and fight. Unfortunately, we don’t see much pushback. Everyone seems to be hiding away.”Also in the crowd was retired colonel and outspoken ultranationalist Vladimir Kvachkov.Having informed me that “Russia will always be the enemy of the Anglo-Saxon West” and assured me that the break-up of the United Kingdom was inevitable, Mr Kvachkov claimed that Girkin was being punished for “fighting against the system.”In recent years the “system” concentrated on clearing the Russian political landscape of pro-democracy, pro-Western critics and challengers. A prison sentence for Girkin suggests the Russian authorities have now decided to crackdown on critics from the opposite end of spectrum: the so-called ultra-patriots. Last year’s mutiny by Wagner mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin may be the reason. The Putin system survived the challenge. But that drama will have alerted the Kremlin to the potential dangers from highly motivated nationalistic and patriotic elements in Russian society.Related TopicsWar in UkraineRussiaVladimir PutinMore on this storyPutin critic Girkin wants Russia presidential runPublished19 November 2023Pro-war Putin critic Strelkov detained in MoscowPublished21 July 2023Wanted Russian rebel scorns MH17 trial. Video, 00:01:25Wanted Russian rebel scorns MH17 trialPublished9 March 20201:25Top StoriesFamilies’ anger as triple killer gets hospital orderPublished24 minutes agoWatch: Killer’s rampage and arrest caught on camera. 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