What is Dark Matter? Its Invisible But Very Poweful

in science •  8 years ago  (edited)

There is dark matter and dark energy.Both energy are invisible we don’t know what it exactly is and how do they work.
But what do we know?

Space isn’t really empty . We think of space as this large empty void filled with billions of stars and plants. But in reality this empty void has matter. There is something to it.


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Dark energy makes 70% of the universe and dark matter makes 25%. And as of now the normal matter constitutes only 5% of it.
Scientists tried to find out what this dark matter was composed of.
It could be cold , dust , rogue planets. But they were left to choose these random subatomic particles.

But How to detect dark matter?

That's still a question that is unanswered. But there are various experiments going on to battle this problem.

Dark matter does not absorb or emit light. That's the reason why we can't see it. There might be huge clouds of dark matter that influence the rotation of galaxies!

So let's simplify this:

  • Dark energy is the humongous part of the universe
  • Dark matter is the reason galaxies exist.

3 things we know about Dark Matter

  • It exists
  • Interacts with gravity
  • There is a lot of it!

Dark matter doesn’t not interact with light and matter , and we can't detect or measure dark energy. But it's effects are definitely out there. And it's strength or its effect on the universe is getting powerful day by day.

They are complex matter which interacts with themselves. They may have both hot and cold particles. The hot particles are known as "neutrinos" and move at the speed of light, but they have no mass. Cold particles are known as WIMPS - Weakly Interacting Massive Particles

The Xenon100 Experiment

There is an underground experiment currently going on to find these particles called Xenon100

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If you want to read more about dark matter, I suggest you read the Article written by @lemouth. You won't be disappointed :)

Sources:
Nasa
Space.com
Dark Matter Crash Course

If you liked this guide! Follow me @mojojojo

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  ·  8 years ago (edited)

Hi,

A few comments with respect to several claims you made in this post and that are not fully exact.

You wrote that among the few things we know about dark matter is that it exists. There are alternatives theories, like MOND theories, where dark matter is not needed. In addition, saying that 'there is a lot of dark matter' does not mean much as 'a lot' is a subjective notion. And as I said, the option of a universe without dark matter is still viable.

Moreover, in the case where you would assume dark matter exists, then we know how to detect it as we know the properties dark matter should have. I you want to read more about that, I can refer to this text I wrote a week ago.

I am also available on #steemSTEM for a live discussion if you want.

PS: You cannot mention xenon100 without mentioning its competitor LUX (which is the best experiment so far in this category) and who did better by a lot.

I would love to discuss more! I stumbled upon a video about dark mater and it was extremely fascinating . That forced me to write a article. I'm a novice when it comes to physics, but it has and always will intrigue me.
Thank you for you comment , I will definitely edit my article and add the link to your well explained article :)

Interesting read! I have read a lot about dark matter but had never heard of xenon100 particles. Looking into it!
Also make sure to check out the @mindunleashed! 🐣

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