Astronomers Celebrate Reliable Measure of Dark Matter

space.com ^ | 10.29.01 | Heather Sparks

[Conan the Librarian]

"Normal matter is what Carl Sagan was talking about when he said we are all star-stuff."

One of the few things Carl (The Village Idiot) Sagan said that he got right. Otherwise an interesting article.

Carl was a poor scientist who forgot the most important rule of Science...that what we speculate on is not fact but theory. Just because Carl says it is true doesn't make it so. Besides he was a pot head.

[Lysander]

Besides he was a pot head.

What does that have to do with anything?

[Conan the Librarian]

Its a crime to use pot. If he doesn't have enough respect for the US to obay its laws, why did he bother to live here. There is no area of the Consitiution that says we can choose to obay one law and not another because we don't like that law. Its thinking like that that got us Bill Clinton and the terror attacks. If you don't like a law, work to get it changed, don't just ignore it.

Besides, Intoxicating substances don't help the thought processes.

[medved]

Earlier studies had showed that dark matter made up anywhere from 85 to 95 percent of the universe. Only now do the two different measures of dark matter agree. Now, 90 percent of everything is known to be virtually nothing.

First off, if all the matter in the universe had ever been in one place (i.e. prior to the "big bang(TM)"), it would have amounted to the biggest black hole imaginable and nothing would ever have blasted its way out of that.

Second, if this "dark matter(TM)" were actually 90% of the mass of the universe, you'd be vacuuming it off your carpets every day, and not just five or ten vacuum-cleaner bags either. All of the conjecture about MACHOs, WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles) and other sundry forms of dark matter are a bunch of BS. What all of that stuff amounts to and a much better acronym for all of it is Fabricated Ad-hoc Inventions Repeatedly Invoked in an Effort to Defend Untenable Scientific Theories, or FAIRIE DUST.

The whole thing is a load of BS. Astronomers and cosmologists have painted themselves into a total box by trying to insist that gravity chiefly governs the cosmos while anybody with an iota of common sense can look at spiral galaxies and similar cosmic phenomena and tell that he is seeing electrical, electromagnetic, and plasma phenomena. The notion of an expanding universe and a "big bang(TM)" are nothing more than logical requirements of a broken theory and a misinterpretation of redshift.

[callisto]

Are you intrigued by the "string" theory?

[BikerNYC]

The notion of an expanding universe and a "big bang(TM)" are nothing more than logical requirements of a broken theory and a misinterpretation of redshift.

Wow. So you don't think glaxies are receding from each other? They can't be standing still (due to gravitational attraction), so you must think that they are moving toward each other. If so, where's the blue shift?

[FairWitness]

Fabricated Ad-hoc Inventions Repeatedly Invoked in an Effort to Defend Untenable Scientific Theories, or FAIRIE DUST.

Eureka! I think you've discovered the secret.

[ZULU]

"But before any stars could form, hydrogen atoms had to exist. This took 300,000 years after the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis the universe had to cool down enough so that electrons could bind with the nuclei.

Once this happened, there was a curious side effect: the creation of light in the Universe. Unbound electrons scattered the UV radiation from the Big Bang, but once the electrons were bound, the radiation was allowed uniform movement, thus, light was finally released in the young cosmos."

"1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2.And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.3.And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."

Cosmology, with the Big Bang Theory postulating all of creation coming out of essentially nothing, in fact, supports more and more, the Old Testament. The creation of light after darkness carries this one step further. Atheistic cosmologists are VERY uncomfortable with the Big Bang Theory.

[OBAFGKM]

"If you don't like a law, work to get it changed, don't just ignore it."

Into authoritarianism, you say? Next time you pass through Virginia, be mindful of these laws, all still technically in force:

Not only is it illegal to have sex with the lights on, one may not have sex in any position other than missionary.
There is a state law prohibiting "corrupt practices of bribery by any person other than candidates."
It is illegal to spit on sidewalk.
If one is not married, it is illegal for him to have sexual relations.
You may not have oral or anal sex.
Police radar detectors are illegal.
Citizens must honk their horn while passing other cars.
Children are not to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.
It is illegal to tickle women.

Be sure to honk as you go whizzing through the speed trap -- I'm sure the judge will understand your position.

You might want to check out Dumb Laws to be sure that you faithfully maintain your law-abiding standards. Or perhaps you insist that people obey only those laws you agree with? ;-)

[OBAFGKM]

"Astronomers and cosmologists have painted themselves into a total box by trying to insist that gravity chiefly governs the cosmos while anybody with an iota of common sense can look at spiral galaxies and similar cosmic phenomena and tell that he is seeing electrical, electromagnetic, and plasma phenomena."

Yeah. Any fool can plainly see your wisdom.

[OBAFGKM]

"Atheistic cosmologists are VERY uncomfortable with the Big Bang Theory."

Not at all. It would be that exceedingly rare Biblical-literalist cosmologist who's having difficulties reconciling his beliefs, for time itself begins with the Big Bang.

There is no such thing as a time "before" the Big Bang when God could roll up his sleeves to do His creating.

[ZULU]

That interpretation of the Big Bang is one I never heard before. As a matter of fact, books have been written on the subject "Before the Big Bang".

[Focault's Pendulum]

pinging myself for later read, providing this doesn't turn into one of those religous, creationist, Bible quoting, begatting, and on the other hand, heavy math, quark quoting, over everyone elses heads ,with a heavy emphasis on theorical equations that makes Greek an easy read, resulting in someone calling someone else a Nazi threads.

[callisto]

...one of those religous, creationist, Bible quoting, begatting, and on the other hand, heavy math, quark quoting, over everyone elses heads ,with a heavy emphasis on theorical equations that makes Greek an easy read, resulting in someone calling someone else a Nazi threads.

Cosmology and theoretical physics tend to bring that out in people, for some reason. LOL.

[ImaGraftedBranch]

It amazes me how, whenever they hit a snag in their calculations, they come up with another assinine theory to cover up the failings of the first. String theory is a fine example of the lengths to which they will go to unite quantum mechanics with relativity.

"Hmmm...that's not gonna work....how about we say that the universe is made up of...eleven dimensions....yeah! That's the ticket!...and uh...ummm....all but say.....four of them...disappeared after the big bang.....yeah...no, wait...they CURLED UP!....yeah, that's it!...they curled up into....into.....nothing!...something so small it can't be measured...yeah!....There! I think this will convince the Journal Nature!....(if I could only remember the question...)"

[OBAFGKM]

"As a matter of fact, books have been written on the subject "Before the Big Bang"."

Name some.

[ZULU]

I saw a book in the Library a few months ago called "Before the Big Bang". I can't recall the author, but will check it out and e-mail the author and name to your address in this group OBAFGKM. Give me a few days please.

Thanks.

[BikerNYC]

It amazes me how, whenever they hit a snag in their calculations, they come up with another assinine theory to cover up the failings of the first.

Right. There was a snag in Newton's Theory of Gravity. The calculations didn't add up and the Theory could not explain why the orbit of Mercury processed the way it did.

So what did those silly scientists do? Some boob named Albert Einstein invented some preposterous theory of gravity to "cover up" the failings of that Newtonian theory. It's called The General Theory of Relativity, and along with Quantum Mechanics, it's one of the most experimentally verified theories around.

I'm sure glad scientists don't listen to you, they'd never get anything done.