Strange Muon Wobble Leads To New Force of Nature Discovery The experiment that returned the potentially paradigm-shattering results and the idea of a new force of nature involved subatomic particles known as muons. A muon is a negatively charged particle with a similar profile to an electron (both are classified as leptons). But the mass of the muon is 200 times greater than that of its ethereal cousin the electron. In nature, muons are produced by high-energy interactions involving particles of matter, including those that occur when molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere are bombarded by cosmic rays . Since they can also be reliably created inside powerful particle accelerators , muons make ideal experimental “subjects” for physicists studying the nature of reality and those looking for new forces of nature. Quite often, high-energy physics projects are designed to search for or produce anomalies, which then require alterations or addendums to known scientific laws or principles.