Part 2/9:
In a striking paper released a few weeks ago, a team of physicists has put forth the bold claim that gravity might indeed be classified as a force. This startling suggestion has the potential to revolutionize the existing frameworks of particle physics, hinting at a closer path towards a unified "theory of everything."
According to the standard model of particle physics, forces are mediated by particles known as force carriers. Electromagnetism has the photon, the strong nuclear force is associated with gluons, and the weak force has W and Z bosons. In contrast, gravity, which Einstein described as an emergent phenomenon rather than a fundamental force, has long lacked a satisfactory force carrier—the elusive graviton.