Why Dark Matter?

[Lost Cause]

Why not something lighter like, "The Force," or, "Boogity-Boogity" stuff?
Maybe they want more funding so they have to make it sound threatening. The matter they describe could be attributed to a deity, or the stuff that just is. Shouldn't they be closer to home trying to perfect cold fusion, breeder reactors, or hydrogen power supplies?

www******.com

Nobody knows what the heck it is, but it is officially repulsive. And man is it powerful! More powerful than gravity, even.

While gravity holds things together at the local level (and by local I mean within galaxies and even between them, forming galactic clusters) some unknown force is working behind the scenes and across the universe to pull everything apart. Scientists have only come to realize this dark force in recent years, by discovering that the universe is expanding at an ever-increasing pace.

Having no clue what it is, they've labeled it dark energy.

The past year was a good one for proving that dark energy is at work. Calculations have been refined: The repulsive force dominates the universe, comprising 65 percent of its makeup.

(Similarly unseen and exotic dark matter makes up 30 percent of the universe, leaving us with a universe that contains just 5 percent normal matter and energy.)

Two curious ideas related to the accelerating expansion, both of which emerged in 2002: All galaxies are destined to become frozen in time or, perhaps, time never ends.


*Continue on with your lives!

 

[superlittlegirl]

The existence of dark matter provides me with a sense of comfort.

 

[Smiley777]

The past year was a good one for proving that dark energy is at work. Calculations have been refined: The repulsive force dominates the universe, comprising 65 percent of its makeup.

I can totally picture Dan Akroyd in Ghostbusters saying this. "Venkman, you dont understand!........"

 

[Lost Cause]

Another authority says....

"The force is an energy field created by all living things, it surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together" - Obi-Wan

 

[Mad_Jack_Rabbit]

Because all the cool names have been taken by the quantum physicists - quarks, lepto-quarks, mesons, pi-mesons, K0-muons, glueons, glue-balls etc.

It's matter. It's dark. It's.... a lack of imagination.

 

[fuzzel]

How can you guys talk about stuff like this before I've even finished my first cup of coffee? What is this? Your own personal cure for insomnia? *rubbing the sleep from my eyes*

It's too early to think that hard.

 

[bluespoke]

How can you guys talk about stuff like this before I've even finished my first cup of coffee? What is this? Your own personal cure for insomnia? *rubbing the sleep from my eyes*

It's too early to think that hard.

Early? It's after 1.30 pm woman!

 

[fuzzel]

Well, obviously SOME of us rise earlier than others! Good Morning Blue!

 

[bluespoke]

Well, obviously SOME of us rise earlier than others! Good Morning Blue!

Afternoon!

Afternoon and it's still freezing!

 

[Mad_Jack_Rabbit]

Afternoon!

Afternoon and it's still freezing!

But at least it's stopped snowing

Maybe the rail networks can stop scratching their heads and try to work out how to get some trains running. They can cope with the fallen stuff but falling snow.... far to dangerous.

White matter... Ugh!

 

[The Heretic]

Having no clue what it is, they've labeled it dark energy.

Actually Dark Matter and Dark Energy are two completely different things. Scientists have a fairly good idea what Dark Matter is, but they don't have a clue what Dark Energy is.

 

[Guest]

I though they used to call it the grey matter because they don't know shit about the matter...

Of all the political heads on the Lit, I tend to enjoy your post most, Lost Cause. Almost as stimurating as your evil twins SINthesist and Frimost. Should I say trippretts, I wonder.

 

[Lost Cause]

I really like this stuff.......

SEATTLE - Einstein was right. The speed of gravity matches the speed of light, according to astronomers who took advantage of a rare planetary alignment to measure one of the fundamental forces of nature.



Edward B. Fomalout of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Sergei Kopeikin of the University of Missouri measured the amount that light from a distant star was deflected by the gravity of Jupiter as the planet passed in front of the star.


Albert Einstein, who formulated basic theories about space, time and relativity, had assumed that gravity moved with the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second, "but until now, no one had measured it," said Kopeikin.


"Einstein was right, of course," said Fomalout.


The measurement is one of the last fundamental constants in physics to be established and Fomalout admitted, "gravity is not well understood."


The researchers used 10 radio telescopes scattered across the Earth from Hawaii to Germany to precisely measure how light from a distant quasar, a type of star, was bent as it passed by Jupiter on its way to the Earth. Jupiter is in the precise position for such a measurement only once a decade.


To make the measurement, the instruments had to detect a minute deflection of the light. Fomalout compared the required precision to being able to measure the size of a silver dollar sitting on the moon's surface, or measuring the width of a human hair from 250 miles away.


Craig Hogan, a University of Washington astronomer, said the achievement "is an important advance for physics," but he predicted that new techniques will be developed that will measure gravity's speed even more accurately.


"You can expect a series of experiments now," he said.


Fomalout and Kopeikin said their results are accurate within about 20 percent.


Knowing the precise speed of gravity is important to physicists testing such modern ideas as the superstring, which holds that fundamental particles in the universe are made up of small vibrating loops or strings. It also affects some basic space-time theories.


Warp Factor 5, Mr. Sulu!

 

[Mad_Jack_Rabbit]

Re: Re: Why Dark Matter?

Actually Dark Matter and Dark Energy are two completely different things. Scientists have a fairly good idea what Dark Matter is, but they don't have a clue what Dark Energy is.

They'll probably decide it's another kind of neutrino

 

[Lost Cause]

You say neutrino, I say neutryno.....

I think it's pretty good a guy like Einstein could figure this stuff out without the technology we have today. Kind of shows the eggheads that without manual mathematics, their knowledge ends at a power outlet, or battery!

 

[Guest]

Have you heard about crap Euro-Britsh space project where the rockets keep exploding?

They have to make one right within this month, or the target - comet, I think - is going to be out of position.

They do know how to spend money right.