Scientists Seek 'Dark Energy' That's Filling In the Universe

Wall Street Journal ^ | 18 October 2002 | SHARON BEGLEY

[PatrickHenry]

The creative bookkeeping at some accounting-challenged firms is nothing compared with what cosmologists must do to balance the universe's ledgers. But thanks to their efforts to make the numbers come out right, these scientists have stumbled on an improbable coincidence: The amount of a mysterious energy that seems to pervade the cosmos is precisely what is needed to allow for the emergence of stars, planets and life itself.

[PatrickHenry]

Ping to my crevo list.

[alaskanfan]

Is this where we post a photo of Al Sharpton?

[Consort]

It's a film noir universe.

[NormsRevenge]

In 1998, observations of exploding supernovas hinted that cosmic expansion has been speeding up lately.

Relative to what 8-? Al Gore's political half-life? ;-)

[ALS]

[apochromat]

It must be due to entanglement with the aether gravitational flux, with the universe spinning inside and out. It reminds me of the detergent commercial, where all the oil spreads apart, anyway. Perhaps they should saturate the region above Podletnikov's disk with electromagnetic fields, to stiffen the aether.

Gee, that was easy.

[Arkinsaw]

Recently given the scientific name "Nadlerite".

[Slyfox]

a leading candidate for the repulsive force...

[Condorman]

On related note, did you happen to see this story regarding more confirmation of the existence of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way?

[PatrickHenry]

Yes. Not of any immediate concern, however. (Have you noticed how odd the comments in this thread are?)

[<1/1,000,000th%]

It's the weekend.

[RightWhale]

Just wondering. Why is this crevo material?

[Aracelis]

we are left with one more hint that the universe is fine-tuned for life and, perhaps, intelligence.

One person's opinion...with "perhaps" being the operative word. I haven't seen too much evidence of this so-called "intelligence" lately, though.

[PatrickHenry]

Why is this crevo material?

It isn't. But my crevo ping list has a large number of people who often participate in science threads other than evolution. Sorry if I pinged you in error.

[Aracelis]

The amount of a mysterious energy that seems to pervade the cosmos is precisely what is needed to allow for the emergence of stars, planets and life itself.

I suppose the ID crowd could take this as evidence for a Creator.

[RightWhale]

No, that's fine. I am interested in science. Cosmology, too, if there is a cosmology ping list.

[RightWhale]

we are left with one more hint that the universe is fine-tuned for life and, perhaps, intelligence

Alan Guth pointed out that there cound be an infinite number of universes and ours could be unique in that conditions are just right for stars, planets, and life to develop. All these universes would be independent and there would be absolutely no communication between them, nor would such a thing as communication between them be possible. I have always thought that would be obvious, that we would inhabit a universe that is just right for us, and we could know of no other, except for theoretical models.

[PatrickHenry]

Some go the distance, some don't. Farewell, old thread.

[AndrewC]

I suppose the ID crowd could take this as evidence for a Creator.

Someone seems to have strong leanings towards that conclusion.

Until scientists do better, though, we are left with one more hint that the universe is fine-tuned for life and, perhaps, intelligence.