Number 128 (Story #3), May 11, 1993 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein SEARCHES FOR NONZERO ELECTRIC DIPOLE MOMENTS in atoms and molecules have the potential to test supersymmetry, a theory that emphasizes a hypothetical symmetry between fermions and bosons in an effort to unify the electroweak and strong forces into a single framework. This model predicts the existence of a nonzero electric dipole moment at the level of 10**-27 cm (times the charge of the electron) or, equivalently, that in some atoms the centers of negative charge and positive charge should be offset by a very tiny amount, less than 10**-27 cm (per unit charge). When the tabletop dipole experiments at places like Amherst, Washington (Seattle), Berkeley, and Yale reach the levels of precision needed for making this sort of measurement---they are currently a factor of 10 away in precision---they will complement accelerator experiments seeking to study supersymmetry. (Science, 30 April 1993.)