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Baboon
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What is dark matter? How was dark matter formed? Any replies would be greatly appreciated.
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Baboon said:...Dark matter is matter that cannot be detected by its emitted radiation
fatra2 said:These neutrinos have no electric charge (no electric field, and don't interact with matter, except for direct collision), very little mass (from what I remember less than 1/1000 the mass of the electron).
fatra2 said:They seem to be very good candidate for this dark matter.
Hippasos said:For all those who wander in their imagination:
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/08/14/0901627106
these corrections to the Standard Model might be the source of the anomalous acceleration of the galaxies, an explanation not requiring the cosmological constant or dark energy
ideasrule said:I haven't read the paper, but it seems to address why the galaxies are accelerating away from us, and not why galaxies have the observed rotation curve.
It might be more more intuitive to see it as a form of matter (it could be much like protons and electrons for all we know) that simply does not interact with photons - neither absorbing them nor emitting them.Baboon said:Dark matter is matter that cannot be detected by its emitted radiation
Why, a Dark Matter Detector of course. (Go head. Ask what a DMD is and how it works.)kldickson said:What kind of technology would we need to positively detect dark matter and go beyond inferring its existence?
kldickson said:What kind of technology would we need to positively detect dark matter and go beyond inferring its existence?
kldickson said:Yes, dark matter particles don't emit electromagnetic radiation, but surely there are other ways of positively identifying them.
Its behaviour is dictated by what we've given it as a nickname?fatra2 said:If there would be a direct way of detecting dark matter, it would become "visible" in some way, and could not be called "dark" matter anymore.
Chronos said:The 'bullet cluster' study is the smoking gun in the case for dark matter...
A direct empirical proof of the existence of dark matter
...a unique cluster merger, that enable a direct detection of dark matter
ranrod said:I have an admittedly uninformed question about this...
My question is this: Why not just say, "there's an unknown force or error in our understanding of the universe?" Why make it a definite object? Making it an object seems like a narrow-minded way of approaching an unknown problem and assumes too much.
Vanadium 50 said:You're right. Your question is uninformed, and calling scientists "narrow-minded" based on your own ignorance says rather more about you than them.
Galteeth said:While people without backgrounds can certainly question things, there are generally good reasons when physicists achieve some consensus, especially since its such a competitive field. I don't "like" dark matter either, but I realize I don't have the necessary background to form a coherent criticism.
Dark matter is a type of matter that does not emit or interact with light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is invisible and cannot be directly observed, but its presence can be inferred through its gravitational effects on visible matter.
Dark matter was first discovered through observations of the rotation of galaxies in the 1930s. Scientists noticed that the outer parts of galaxies were rotating faster than expected based on the amount of visible matter present. This led to the hypothesis that there must be some unseen mass, or dark matter, providing the additional gravitational force.
The exact formation of dark matter is still a mystery, but it is believed to have been present in the early universe and has existed since the beginning of time. It is thought to have formed through a process called "cold collapse," where it clumped together due to gravitational forces and eventually formed the large structures we see in the universe today.
In addition to the observations of galaxy rotation, there are several other lines of evidence that support the existence of dark matter. These include the gravitational lensing of light, the distribution of matter in galaxy clusters, and the cosmic microwave background radiation. All of these observations can only be explained by the presence of a significant amount of dark matter in the universe.
Dark matter makes up about 85% of the total matter in the universe, so it plays a crucial role in shaping the structure and evolution of the universe. Its presence also helps explain many observed phenomena, such as the rotation of galaxies and the formation of large-scale structures. Understanding dark matter is essential for a complete understanding of the universe and its history.