The universe thrums with quantum fields; and the particles of matter and force emerge as vibrational manifestations of the deep symmetries of these fields. The layers and reflections of those symmetries give us the wonderful richness of what we call the standard model of particle physics. Except there seems to be something missing: the sterile neutrino.

I generally find the numbers printed on pasta boxes for cooking time far too high: I’ll set the timer for a minute below their low-end “al dente” time, and when I taste one it’s already getting too mushy. I decided to run a small experiment to get a better sense of how cooked I like pasta.