Dark Matter

[Fierce_LiNk]

US astronomers say they have found the first direct evidence for the mysterious stuff called dark matter.

 

Dark matter - which does not emit or reflect enough light to be "seen" - is thought to make up 25% of the Universe.

 

By contrast, the ordinary matter we can see is believed to make up no more than about 5% of our Universe.

 

Until now, astronomers have only been able to infer the existence of this dark material through the gravitational effects it has on ordinary matter.

 

The researchers have discovered what is effectively the gravitational signature of dark matter.

 

This signature was created by dark matter and ordinary matter being wrenched apart by the immense collision of two large galaxy clusters.

 

"The kinetic energy of this collision is...enough to completely evaporate and pulverise planet Earth ten trillion trillion times over," said team member Maxim Markevitch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, US.

 

Study leader Doug Clowe, from the University of Arizona, said: "This provides the first direct proof that dark matter must exist and that it must make up the majority of the matter in the Universe."

 

Source:BBC

 

Well, we have quite a few people on this board who like topics like this. Space does interest me, and we have quite a few topics on here related to it.

I just read this and was interested by it. Isn't it strange that something we can't see or touch makes up a quarter of everything in the Universe? How trippy.

[The Bard]

You mean like Dust? Wasn't Dark matter one of the names for Dust in HDM? Lol, if only

 

Anyway, this is pretty strange yeah, so many things we dont know about the universe...

[conzer16]

Ah dark matter. How we pondered your existance, discussed your potential and feared

your wrath......in our Leaving Cert physics class!

 

If Dark Matter could contained (if it can be found first!) the possibilities would only begin to unfold.

[Shino]

"The kinetic energy of this collision is...enough to completely evaporate and pulverise planet Earth ten trillion trillion times over," said team member Maxim Markevitch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, US.

 

We really needed this comparison, I really couldn't grasp the magnitude of this event just by saying that two huge galaxys collided making the first visible rip between dark mater and normal matter.

[weeyellowbloke]

I find the idea of dark matter and dark energy slightly unnerving. The fact that empty space itself can have energy affecting all the 5% of matter we see and yet we know so little about something which constitutes 95% of the universe. Frankly I want to know what these forces are up to, at least with gravity you know where you stand (on the ground).

 

This signature was created by dark matter and ordinary matter being wrenched apart by the immense collision of two large galaxy clusters.

 

"The kinetic energy of this collision is...enough to completely evaporate and pulverise planet Earth ten trillion trillion times over," said team member Maxim Markevitch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, US.

 

That is just mind blowing. It's just.... :shock: Our planet just seems to mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.

[Ginger_Chris]

to be fair, dark matter and dark energy are just names we've given these two things that we know hardley anything about, they arn't actually forms of energy or matter (well they could be but we dont know). Its another one of those cass where the theory suggests these things exists, so we try and find them. dark energy and dark matter are just names, all we really know about them is that they exist and they they have gravitaional attraction.

 

basically they're a fudge to fit the equations. (it happens alot in physics, everythings a damn fudge, or perfect scenario).

 

And yea the earth is meanignless in the universe, its fairly arrogant to think the universe revolvesaround, and created for, a buch of primates that got smart enough to be that arrogant.

[Dan_Dare]

iiinteresting. isn't there a theory that states dark matter and matter colliding kind of cancell each other out? or is that anti matter...

[Hellfire]

Anti matter and matter were supposed to be in equal quantities when at the begging of the universe.

[Ginger_Chris]

anti-matter and matter dont exactly cancel each other out. the particle/anti-particle pairs annihilate and release huge amounts of energy (or if the energy is high enough new particles are created). E=mc^2, in fact. So a electron and positron will annihilate, as will a proton and anti-proton. It would provide an amazing and clean source of energy. Too bad antimatter takes massive amounts of energy to create, and containment its pretty tricky (but possible).

[LazyBoy]

anti-matter and matter dont exactly cancel each other out. the particle/anti-particle pairs annihilate and release huge amounts of energy (or if the energy is high enough new particles are created). E=mc^2, in fact. So a electron and positron will annihilate, as will a proton and anti-proton. It would provide an amazing and clean source of energy. Too bad antimatter takes massive amounts of energy to create, and containment its pretty tricky (but possible).

 

Do you mind telling me how it is exactly that anti-matter is created? It has just always fascinated me.

[EEVILMURRAY]

I'm not sure I'm buying all this. They're basically saying that because gravity doesn't work exactly how it does on Earth = Dark Matter. Big assumption there. Is that their reasoning for the way man walked on the moon?

[Mokong]

Star Trek style ships will be coming soon.... i get 1st go on the ship that will enevitably be calle "Enterprise"

[MoogleViper]

I always get confused between dark matter and dark energy.

[DCK]

Wasn't dark matter explained by the existence of absolutely sick amounts of neutrinos (tiny, tiny particles having a wee bit of mass)?

[Demuwan]

So many questions.

 

Is Phazon Dark Matter?

How come we can see Dark Samus?

Do any of these physicist's know what they are talking about:p ?

[soag]

So many questions.

 

Is Phazon Dark Matter?

How come we can see Dark Samus?

 

I knew that was coming

[somme]

Can I eat it?

[conzer16]

Dark Matter

 

Lol at Demuwan!

[Strider]

It won't be long untill we can power this:

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

This explains it all... I think.

 

The composition of dark matter is unknown, but may include new elementary particles such as WIMPs and axions, ordinary and heavy neutrinos, dwarf stars and planets collectively called MACHOs, and clouds of nonluminous gas. Current evidence favors models in which the primary component of dark matter is new elementary particles, collectively called nonbaryonic dark matter.

[somme]

It won't be long untill we can power this:

 

 

I hope it's soon cos i've got one at home.

[Ginger_Chris]

basically, scientists havent got a clue what dark matter is and are just guessing.

 

oh and for the anti-matter info click here, it explains the basics pretty well. basically antimatter is created in exactly the same way we create matter, from high energy collsions between supidly fast moving electrons. the released energy can be turned into matter or antimatter

[mario114]

So does this mean we live in a closed universe or have they still not got an idea about how much dark matter there is?

 

Well not that it matters much...

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

Here is a chart.

 

[gaggle64]

I seem to recall they're doing dark-matter experiments in a deep mine shaft in Yorkshire. I wonder how that's going?