Posted on 04/02/2011 6:24:09 PM PDT by LibWhacker
I know there are many on here that know way, way more than I do about dark matter, but has dark matter really been proven or is it just a theory?
I was under the impression that it was purely theoretical at this point.
Dark matter could feed the monkeys flying out of Hillary Clinton’s ample derriere, too.
This is kind of like the theory that there are parallel universes with matter made up of slightly different quarks than the ones we have.
That could well be, but how would we know?
I missed my calling.
I spend my time making sh!+ up and posting it on FR.
To think I could have been paid for it.
I think it's been proven by gravitational lensing; so it either IS matter that doesn't reflect light, or it's some unknown weird twist of gravity that behaves exactly as if it were matter that doesn't reflect light. Either way, there's definitely something there.
That's what I understand; but I'm no astrophysicist, so don't quote me on that.
My limited understanding of the matter is that dark matter is postulated to explain why so much matter appears to be “missing” if the generally accepted theories of physics are accurate. This is somewhat similar to the ether theories of the pre-Einstein period.
An equally logical explanation is that the theories requiring dark matter are inaccurate or at least incomplete.
No it has not been proven because "we can't see it or interact with it." Un-huh.
1: What is the total mass of the universe.
2: What would the escape velosity be from such a mass?
3: Where is the center of that mass?
4: If light can be bent by passing near a mass how big a mass would put light into an orbit around it?
5: how far from the center of mass of the universe would light have to be to be free of orbiting?
I have no answers, just questions.
So, these planets could get heat from dark matter, just where would they get light, which is as essential as heat for live to exist, maybe more so.
I don’t think light is necessary. There are critters on the deep ocean floor that never get any light, and in caves, etc.
“As I understand it, scientists don’t even really know what it is at this point.” Seems there is a lot of this practice in cosmology. Dark mater, dark energy, different manifestations of gravity, all added to try and come up with a theory that can explain the origin of the universe.
Except for one thing: there is no such ****ing thing as “dark matter(TM)” in real life. Kind of like Santa Claus and the Easter rabbit...
The answer is no. The thing which actually does constitute something like 99% of the mass of the universe is plasma, and the forces which actually do govern the cosmos are electrical and electromagnetic. Dark matter is an attempt to make the cosmos work with just gravity, i.e. a gravity-only conception of astrophysics handed down to us from two or three centuries ago, and which needs to be jettisoned at this point.
They say that dark matter accounts for 83% of the Universe.
That means it is abundant, and everywhere.
Why then have we found gravitational lensing only in a very very few selected areas?
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