Dark Matter, Dark Energy May Be Different Aspects of One Force

Newswise ^ | 30 June 2004 | Staff

[PatrickHenry]

The bold font is added by your humble poster, as was a better link to the original article.

[PatrickHenry]

Science list ping (an elite subset of the Evolution list). List details are in my freeper homepage. FReepmail me to be added or dropped.

[Maceman]

OF course they are the same. Ultimately, everything is all one thing -- different manifestations of one God.

[Ruth A.]

bump for later.

[tet68]

Scientists are suspicious of this because it suggests that there is something special about the present era.

Of course, WE are here to observe it!

[RightWingAtheist]

I have nothing to add here...except some Lisa Randall pictures :-p'''

[facedown]

Cool.

[mvonfr]

One way to think of this is that the universe is filled with an invisible fluid that exerts pressure on ordinary matter and changes the way that the universe expands

Is it how they described the ether hundred years ago?

[PatrickHenry]

Is it how they described the ether hundred years ago?

"Invisible fluid," yes. As for the rest, no. The aether was assumed to have no effects at all. Or so I recall.

[Grut]

I continue to suspect that the most likely substance for dark matter/energy is 'fudge'.

[Dinsdale]

Lets face facts both dark matter and dark energy are examples of Finagler's constant.

Numbers made up to make theories match data.

Many of the observed/inferred numbers underlying the observation that matter is missing (such as the size and age of the universe) can be changed by new observations. This will require recalculation of the % dark matter and energy in the universe.

I'd like to know the error values for these impressive sounding numbers. If the average radius of Galaxies turns out to be 10% off the currently estimate what does that do to the amount of missing matter?

[R. Scott]

Maybe the old time philosophers weren’t far off when they spoke of the “ether”

[R. Scott]

I continue to suspect that the most likely substance for dark matter/energy is 'fudge'.

An unknown effect given off by any chocolate. I think I will investigate more tomorrow.

[wizr]

A sign noted in town: "So what is the speed of dark?"

[Diverdogz]

Wow. Now that you've explained it, the nature of everything, so succinctly - there is no need for any further scientific inquiry.

[Cogadh na Sith]

Hey, they rediscovered 'aether'...

It always seemed to make more sense to me that Dark Matter and Dark Energy were everything 'observable' by the observer that is not in the 'present' of the observer.

Dark Matter being matter independent of time and the dark energy being the 'potentialities' of all the possible quantum states of the space not in the observers 'present'.

[longshadow]

Although Scherrer’s model has a number of positive features, it also has some drawbacks. For one thing, it requires some extreme “fine-tuning” to work.

Recall that this was the same complaint raised with regard to the original BB theory, when it was discovered that the matter density is exquisitely close to the critical value. But under the Inflationary BB model, the fine tuning needed to produce a Universe of critical matter density was eliminated; regardless of the intital conditions, the Inflation process always drives the matter density to the critical value.

Perhaps a similar mechanism will rescue k-essence from the fine-tuning problem.......

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

I continue to suspect that the most likely substance for dark matter/energy is 'fudge'.

Rather I think they're up to their necks in dark matter and without a paddle.

[mad_as_he$$]

I belive most dark matter is centered around Bill, Hillary and Jabba the Moore.

[edwin hubble]

Thanks very much for this ping, PatrickHenry.

Phys Rev Letters is big stuff.
This is an interesting approach. Describe a substance that has properties that account for two apparently disparate behaviors - dark matter (clumping) and dark energy (expansion).

Remember that (before tectonic plate motion was accepted and understood) Earth's mantle was thought to be rigid because it transmits shock as does a dense solid...
But it also seemed to flow (as a fluid) slowly with steady pressure.
Two apparently irreconcilable properties. (We know now that the mantle has both properties -- like silly putty).