Posted on 05/05/2009 7:17:29 AM PDT by decimon
As modern cosmologists rely more and more on the ominous "dark matter" to explain otherwise inexplicable observations, much effort has gone into the detection of this mysterious substance in the last two decades, yet no direct proof could be found that it actually exists. Even if it does exist, dark matter would be unable to reconcile all the current discrepancies between actual measurements and predictions based on theoretical models. Hence the number of physicists questioning the existence of dark matter has been increasing for some time now. Competing theories of gravitation have already been developed which are independent of this construction. Their only problem is that they conflict with Newton's theory of gravitation. "Maybe Newton was indeed wrong", declares Professor Dr. Pavel Kroupa of Bonn University´s Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AIfA). "Although his theory does, in fact, describe the everyday effects of gravity on Earth, things we can see and measure, it is conceivable that we have completely failed to comprehend the actual physics underlying the force of gravity".
This is a problematical hypothesis that has nevertheless gained increasing ground in recent years, especially in Europe. Two new studies could well lend further support to it. In these studies, Professor Kroupa and his former colleague Dr. Manuel Metz, working in collaboration with Professor Dr. Gerhard Hensler and Dr. Christian Theis from the University of Vienna, and Dr. Helmut Jerjen from the Australian National University, Canberra, have examined so-called "satellite galaxies". This term is used for dwarf galaxy companions of the Milky Way, some of which contain only a few thousand stars. According to the best cosmological models, they exist presumably in hundreds around most of the major galaxies. Up to now, however, only 30 such satellites have been observed around the Milky Way, a discrepancy in numbers which is commonly attributed to the fact that the light emitted from the majority of satellite galaxies is so faint they remain invisible.
A detailed study of these stellar agglomerates has revealed some astonishing phenomena: "First of all, there is something unusual about their distribution", Professor Kroupa explains, "the satellites should be uniformly arranged around their mother galaxy, but this is not what we found". More precisely, all classical satellites of the Milky Way – the eleven brightest dwarf galaxies – lie more or less in the same plane, they are forming some sort of a disc in the sky. The research team has also been able to show that most of these satellite galaxies rotate in the same direction around the Milky Way – like the planets revolve around the Sun.
Contradiction upon Contradiction
The physicists do belief that this phenomenon can only be explained if the satellites were created a long time ago through collisions between younger galaxies. "The fragments produced by such an event can form rotating dwarf galaxies", explains Dr. Metz, who has recently moved across to the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aero-space Center). But there is an interesting catch to this crash theory, "theoretical calculations tell us that the satellites created cannot contain any dark matter". This assumption, however, stands in contradiction to another observation. "The stars in the satellites we have observed are moving much faster than predicted by the Gravitational Law. If classical physics holds this can only be attributed to the presence of dark matter", Manuel Metz states.
Or one must assume that some basic fundamental principles of physics have hitherto been incorrectly understood. "The only solution would be to reject Newton´s classical theory of gravitation", says Pavel Kroupa. "We probably live in a non-Newton universe. If this is true, then our observations could be explained without dark matter". Such approaches are finding support amongst other research teams in Europe, too.
It would not be the first time that Newton's theory of gravitation had to be modified over the past hundred years. This became necessary in three special cases: when high velocities are involved (through the Special Theory of Relativity), in the proximity of large masses (through the theory of General Relativity), and on sub-atomic scales (through quantum mechanics). The deviations detected in the satellite galaxy data support the hypothesis that in space where extremely weak accelerations predominate, a "modified Newton dynamic" must be adopted. This conclusion has far-reaching consequences for fundamental physics in general, and also for cosmological theories. ¬¬Famous astrophysicist Bob Sanders from the University of Groningen declares: "The authors of this paper make a strong argument. Their result is entirely consistent with the expectations of modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), but completely opposite to the predictions of the dark matter hypothesis. Rarely is an observational test so definite."
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Metz, Manuel; Kroupa, Pavel; Theis, Christian; Hensler, Gerhard; Jerjen, Helmut: Did the Milky Way dwarf satellites enter the halo as a group? (The Astrophysical Journal 2009; doi: 10.1088/0004-637X/697/1/269)
Metz, Manuel; Kroupa, Pavel; Jerjen, Helmut: Discs of Satellites: the new dwarf spheroidals (Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2009; doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.14489.x)
Contact: Professor Dr. Pavel Kroupa Argelander-Institut für Astronomie der Universität Bonn Telephone: 0228/73-6140, E-Mail: pavel@astro.uni-bonn.de
Dr. Manuel Metz Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) Telephone: 0228/447-511, E-Mail: manuel.metz@dlr.de
hilarious when the whole house of cards is built on non existant, non visible, ‘dark’ matter....
and they claim we creationist believe in fairy tales...
whatabunchMAROOOOOONS....
This whole dark matter thingy gives me a giggle when I imagine the Lord and Creator of all that is...having loads of fun toying with cosmologists by changing the rules of His game with nothing but a mere thought or twitch of His finger.
"Heh heh....watch this...I'm going to decrease the mass of this whole section of the universe...watch 'em start scrambling...this'll be good."
Sasha Baron Cohen is God?
The entire so called physical universe is an illusion; a projection of the collective ego. Quit wasting all this energy trying to figure it out. Just relax and enjoy reading FR everyday while you are still living the dream.
Well...there have been recent galactic observations that were explained by “exotic dark matter” affecting visible matter. No doubt there are other potential explanations, but these were considered fairly definitive evidence of dark matter.
Dark matter (of exotic or non-exotic form) most likely exists, unless the quantities we consider “constant” in current physics are in fact non-constant. That’s an issue that’s not being addressed to any great extent at the moment, since it violates a central tenet of science, that physical law remains constant over time.
The 2002 Scientific American article on MOND, written by the father of the MOND theory, Dr. Mordehai Milgrom, can be read at
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~ssm/mond/sad0802Milg6p.pdf
MOND modifies Newton’s f=ma law to become f=ma^2 for small values of acceleration, with f=ma still applying for larger values of acceleration.
Jack
This may strike some of you as odd, but I have placed the subject of dark matter on my list of Things-Not-To-Worry-About.
Incidentally, I thought it was rather kind -(if a bit enterprising)- of some to explain the Lord’s position on all this !
“The entire so called physical universe is an illusion; a projection of the collective ego.”
That is certainly one possibility. It could also (in a solipsist view) be the creation of only your personal ego (mind), and the rest of us could be simply pale echos of the wonder of you.
Or not.
In the meantime, most reasonable people believe in things like continuity, reality, cause and effect, science, and history. Many of us have even experienced some of these things. I’m sure your world view will reward you as you deserve.
“This may strike some of you as odd, but I have placed the subject of dark matter on my list of Things-Not-To-Worry-About.”
Actually I find it a welcome diversion from the today’s update on the Obamanation. On the other hand, dark matter was never something I “worried about” in the first place.
The Fair Tax is my most recent issue to ignore, it’s not going to happen without fundamental change (the right kind) in the government. Right now we need to hunker down and protect what’s left of the Constitution.
If you accept said people to be the voice of God. I am not religious but I would not insult religious people with a reducing of God to some spiteful prankster.
>>The entire so called physical universe is an illusion; a projection of the collective ego. Quit wasting all this energy trying to figure it out. Just relax and enjoy reading FR everyday while you are still living the dream.<<
When I accepted Christ into my heart, I took the red pill.
This world really is closer to the Matrix than a lot of people want to believe. What you see, feel, hear and touch - It is all mere perception. Literally.
>>That is certainly one possibility. It could also (in a solipsist view) be the creation of only your personal ego (mind), and the rest of us could be simply pale echos of the wonder of you.<<
It was a warm sunny day before my 6th grade year in the summer of 1965 in a small town in eastern Washington as I stopped my bicycle just short of my house as I pondered that very question. I remember it vividly.
riiiiiiiiiiiiiight...
the articles first two lines basically say the same thing:
As modern cosmologists rely more and more on the ominous “dark matter” to explain otherwise inexplicable observations, much effort has gone into the detection of this mysterious substance in the last two decades, yet no direct proof could be found that it actually exists. Even if it does exist, dark matter would be unable to reconcile all the current discrepancies between actual measurements and predictions
I will stick with the truth of Christ, you can stick with man made fairy tales about dark matter that cant be seen or tested, etc...
Much less Someone who can be persuaded - via suitable incantation - to perform card tricks.
I always start getting—ah—nervous when physics starts relying on an ‘invisible & undetectable’ thing to explain observations. When a theory relies on something that cannot be tested, you’re in trouble. It’s the same problem I had with the various ‘string—super-string’ theories.
Remember ‘Phlogiston’(sp?) physics?
Personally, I’m leaning toward lots more hydrogen than assumed. And maybe one of the ‘open’ universe hypothesis’.
>If you just argue about what a couple of thousand year old text has to say, whether it is the Bible, or the Koran or the Epic of Gilgamesh, you’re going to be stuck with 2000 year old world views.
That is untrue. Arguing, in the classical-logic sense is a good way to gain understanding, and to convey that actual knowledge. As some have said “words mean things”, but as experience shows there are fewer who truly understand this; when someone who does corrects someone who does not it is usually received as a personal attack or, very often, as being pedantic/legalistic
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