The Stunning Accuracy of the Standard Model of Particle Physics

The Standard Model of particle physics is not just "accurate." It has made predictions that have been experimentally verified to a precision of 1 part in 10 billion or better. It is the most successful mathematical description of nature ever devised.

Evidence of Unprecedented Precision

The Electron's Magnetic Moment

Prediction: The Standard Model predicts a specific value for the electron's "g-factor."

Measurement: Experiments have measured it to be 1.00115965218059.

Agreement: Theory and experiment agree within 1 part in a trillion.

The Higgs Boson

Prediction: The theory predicted the existence and general properties of the Higgs boson in the 1960s.

Measurement: It was discovered at CERN in 2012 with exactly the predicted properties.

Significance: The final piece of the Standard Model was found, 50 years after it was predicted.

The Ultimate Test: The Electron's g-factor

If we predicted the distance from New York to Los Angeles with the same precision as the electron's g-factor, our error would be less than the width of a human hair.

Known Limitations: What the Standard Model Does NOT Explain

Despite its incredible success, the Standard Model is known to be incomplete. It does not include:

Gravity: It has no description of gravitational force.

Dark Matter: It offers no viable candidate for this mysterious, dominant form of matter.

Dark Energy: It cannot explain the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry: It cannot explain why the universe is made mostly of matter.

These are not failures of accuracy, but boundaries of the theory's scope. Within its domain, it is flawless.