The Universe is Basically Left-Handed: Here are Some Reasons Why

Try waving at yourself in a mirror, and you'll find your reflection waving back to you. However, the hand your reflection is waving with is the opposite of the one you are actually waving with.

For us humans, this should not posture a problem as we could just as simply have opted for the opposite hand to wave with; then, our reflection would have waved back as well, with the opposite hand.

For the Universe, though, and specifically, for any particle that experiences an interaction using weak force, some interaction only take place for the left-handed version. As for the right-handed versions, amid the best efforts exerted to locate them, they simply do not exist.

Almost everyone is probably wondering why the Universe has this property, and why, according to Forbes, it only shows up for the "weak interactions and whereas the strong, electromagnetic and gravitational interactions are all perfectly symmetric between left- and right-handed configurations."

This is a fact that has been scientifically verified empirically in many ways, with new trials poised to test this supposition even further.

Although such an occurrence is said to be well-described "by the physics of the Standard Model, no one knows the reason the Universe is this way."

(Photo : Jeison Morales on Pixabay)
One can visualize both the left- and right-handed versions of himself through the use of his hands.

'Quantum Properties'

Imagine this: instead of being a human being and being a particle instead. You are moving through space, and you have the so-called specific quantum properties like "mass and charge," and you don't just have an angular motion with respect to your "direction-of-motion" also called "spin." That particular quantum properties you now have as a particle define precisely what you are.

You can visualize both the left- and right-handed versions of yourself through the use of your hands. Begin by taking your thumbs and having them pointed in the same direction. You may choose any direction but be sure it's the same as one another.

Once you've chosen your direction, curl your fingers around the direction being pointed by your thumb. If you look at the direction of your thumbs, as though they were coming 'towards' you, you would be able to see the spin difference: the left-handed particles are all spinning clockwise. The right-handed particles, on the other hand, are spinning counterclockwise.

More often than not, physics does not care which way you are spinning-both the rules and laws are the same. A spinning top follows the same laws of physics, whether it is spinning clockwise or counterclockwise.

Essentially, a planet spinning on its axis follows the same rules regardless of the direction, the same or opposite, to its orbit.

More so, a spinning electron cascading down to a lower level of energy in an atom will produce photons regardless of which the electron is spinning in. Under most conditions, these laws of physics are what's called the "left-right symmetric."

Classes of Symmetries

The "mirror symmetry" is one of the fundamental classes of symmetries that can be applied to particles and the laws of physics.

During the early 20th century, it has been thought that there were specific symmetries that had always been preserved. Three of them included the parity or 'P' symmetry, the charge conjugation or 'C' symmetry, and the time-reversal or 'T' symmetry.

The 'P' symmetry states that the laws of physics are similar for all particles "as they are for their mirror-image reflections."

The 'C' symmetry, on the other hand, is where the laws of physics are similar for particles as they are for antiparticles.

Lastly, according to the 'T' symmetry, the laws of physics "are the same if you view a system going forwards in time" against one that goes backward in time.

ALSO READ: The ISS to Get Bigger Soon, Russian Cosmonauts Prepare for It

Check out more news and information on Universe on Science Times.