The lecture called "Nature in the Mirror" by one of world’s most renowned theoretical physicists, Prof. Goran Senjanović Ph.D., took place on December 17th at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Naval Architecture. The event attracted a large number of students, researchers, and physics enthusiasts, and opening remarks were given by prof. Silvestar Šesnić Ph.D., Vice-dean for science, and assoc. prof. Damir Lelas Ph.D.
Talking about left-right symmetry, Professor Senjanović often refers to an image from his childhood. He recalls that as a four-year-old, he was fascinated by a large mirror in his parents' bedroom. The child in the mirror looked the same as him, yet different. His left and right hands were switched, but the whole remained the same. This phenomenon is what physics calls mirror- or left-right symmetry.
In the world of elementary particles, this idea can be simply explained: if in an experiment 100 electrons are produced, common sense would suggest that fifty of them behave "left," and fifty "right." For centuries, this was considered evident.
Modern particle physics theory states that nature is fundamentally asymmetric, but Senjanović and his associates have been exploring for decades the possibility that symmetry is indeed present, but hidden deep beneath the level we can observe directly.
For everyday life, he emphasizes, this would mean little. If his research had immediate practical applications, he likely wouldn’t pursue it. Fundamental questions rarely bring quick benefits. Einstein’s and Newton’s discoveries took decades, even centuries, to find their technical applications.
Particularly important in this quest are neutrinos, particles that have earned a reputation for being mysterious. Although tens of billions pass through our bodies every second, they almost never interact with matter. If they were electrons, such "traffic" would be fatal.
This elusiveness makes neutrinos exceptionally interesting. Every rare collision they have opens a window into new physics. According to the standard theory, neutrinos shouldn’t have mass, but it has been shown that they do. This discovery, reached after 25 years of research, has provided strong impetus for theories advocating hidden left-right symmetry.
If one day it is confirmed that nature is, at its core, mirror-symmetrical, it will not change our everyday life. But it will alter the way we understand the universe, and history teaches us that such understanding, sooner or later, always finds its way into applications.
