Dark matter sounds like the modern day equivalent of believing there's only earth, fire, water, and air elements. We know there's more to it and once discovered, our understanding of the laws of the universe could be radically changed for the better. Just hope it happens in my life time. In the meantime, guess it's back to the drawing board.
I like to describe it this way. Don't think of it as "dark matter." Think of it as "dark gravity." SOMETHING is out there acting like a gravitational force. SOMETHING out there is bending space in very predictable ways that we can measure, test, and make predictions about. We know what this "force" is NOT. It is not the normal matter that makes up the stuff you and I and the stars are made of. It is not clouds of gas and dust. IT is also very cold and does not interact with normal matter and light or if it does interact it does so very weakly. And the kicker is that when you make an energy budget for the whole universe, this "dark gravity" makes up 4x more of the universe than the stuff that you and I are made of. And stuff that is unknown makes me excited to be alive. Maybe this will be the solution to every issue we face as a people. Maybe it will be something we cannot use and exploit. Maybe it will be unknown for dozens of generations until we get a mind and the tools needed to say "Oh, that is what this force is." The fact that humanity found something out in the universe that is driving the researchers bonkers makes me excited for the future.
I like reading about this sort of thing but have no background in physics so I appreciate your explanation. Dark matter and dark energy are different, but related as I understand it. Does dark matter create dark energy or am I thinking about this incorrectly? One wonders if the answers to dark matter questions will shed light on the "space" between Newtonian physics and quantum mechanics. Perhaps the answer as to what dark matter/dark energy will lead to a unified theory and help explain other mysteries such as how photons seem to act as a wave, particle, or both (the double slit experiment) or how electrons can appear to be in 2 places at once.
Don't have much to add, but I'm smiling like a goon with agreement.And the kicker is that when you make an energy budget for the whole universe, this "dark gravity" makes up 4x more of the universe than the stuff that you and I are made of. And stuff that is unknown makes me excited to be alive. Maybe this will be the solution to every issue we face as a people. Maybe it will be something we cannot use and exploit. Maybe it will be unknown for dozens of generations until we get a mind and the tools needed to say "Oh, that is what this force is."
It reminds me of the old theory that space was made up of a medium called ether.
It's more like a mathematical outlier that scientists use to reconcile what really seems to make sense with what we see. I think most physicists were skeptical of it. It's really just matter that doesn't emit light. Makes sense on paper. My eyes start to cross when they get into dark energy. I've always been skeptical of it. But I'm an artist, not a scientist. You can tell me something makes the math work. That doesn't mean I understand what the fuck that means
The answer to the first question is yes and no from my fuzzy memory, but Devac and francopoli are both clearer and better informed. And together they give a kick-ass answer. As to skepticisms across communities... Astronomy professors rave about how nutty it is that the only way we can measure it is through our understanding Newtonian mechanics alongside the implications. Physics professors acknowledge it's existance for the same reason, then smile and shrug off preceding questions. The lone math professor who deals with astronomy I talk to flat out calls the above lunatics. I'd love to say that's how each community thinks, but I've got a small sample size. EDIT: Left off the beginning of the last sentence.
Special Relativity, not Newton, but otherwise spot on. History is full of these "I have no idea on the why or how, but here is a bunch of math to describe and make predictions" when it comes to natural phenomena. Hell, speaking of Gravity, what is it? I mean Why is there Gravity? We understand DNA and evolution magnitudes more in depth than we do one of the four universal forces of the universe!Astronomy professors rave about how nutty it is that the only way we can measure it is through our understanding Newtonian mechanics alongside the implications.