Researchers, for the first time, have showed the photons in action, from “radiative decay”. They have captured the light produced by the decays, which is roughly 1 in 1,000, in the form of an energetic photon.
A team of United States and Britain-based researchers revealed results capable of confirming neutron radiative decay, reported in the Dec. 21, 2006, issue of Nature. The findings revealed the so-called — “weak force” intricacies. This — along with gravity, the electromagnetic force and the strong force — form the four fundamental forces of nature, in addition to its proving a theory.
Fred Wietfeldt, assistant professor of physics at Tulane University said,
This is the first experiment to make a definitive detection of these rare photons. The next step is to make more precise measurements of their energy, direction and polarization. This opens the door to a new class of experiments to further elucidate the weak force and perhaps find hints of new physics.
