The Rise and Fall of the Fifth Force

Reading like a detective story, this work discloses the curious history of the dramatic rise and swift fall of the concept of the "Fifth Force" a proposed modification of Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation and one of the most heralded physics theories in recent memory. While discussing the origin and fate of this short-lived concept, the author provides a fascinating analysis of the ways in which scientific hypotheses in general are promulgated and pursued.