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Electrons and muons are tiny magnets. Their magnetism is slightly more than two (in special units), and this 'excess fraction' (anomalous magnetic moment) arises from constant ripples in the vacuum: particle pairs momentarily pop into existence and vanish. For the muon, the heavy cousin of the electron, this excess is more noticeable, meaning it senses the unknown more keenly.

The trick is to combine the readings of the electron and muon so that the main interference, from the strong interactions that glue the nucleus, cancels out. Like a radio receiver: noise fades, and a clean signal emerges. The remainder points to new particles or forces. Uncertainty drops by 85%.

The problem: we need jeweler's precision in measuring the electron's extra bit. Experimenters are already at work. It was started by Julian Schwinger in 1948, and now measurement precision has skyrocketed millions of times.