Ever since I took astronomy at college, I’ve always been fascinated by space. The idea of this infinite void, full of powers and forces beyond our comprehension astounds and terrifies me. These are pressures for forming galaxies and stars, quasars and even planets. Atoms compressed to shape nebulous clouds and star systems. Stars go through phases of existence, as red or blue giants, before expiring and turning into white dwarfs, exploding and releasing an fathomable amount of power as supernovas. These supernovas, if the singularity is so great, can expand into black holes, which apparently populate our universe more than we thought. There’s even a super black hole in our galaxy! All these things going on as we casually observe what is considered our “observable universe”, which contains only about 5% of what’s out there.
But we won’t be talking about any of that that.
Instead I would like to explore the concepts of dark matter and dark energy. These are two ideas that have been established as fundamental forces behind the construction of our universe. Yet more and more studies are coming out that show that they might not even exist.
But how can this be?! Let’s explore these things together…
Dark forces 101 for Dummies
First lets look at what dark energy and dark matter are. Dark matter is the gravitational force that is holding our universe together. This is the force keeping galaxies galaxies, and not hitch hiking planetary bodies. Dark energy is responsible for the propulsion of the universe.
But new emerging data shows something is amiss. New studies are showing that our universe is expanding faster than initially calculated. And lets rip the band-aid off here: the only reason we think that dark matter and dark energy exist is because of their observable gravitational effects on celestial bodies. There has yet to be any real physical evidence that supports their existence. They are merely place holder terms for things we don’t yet understand (the only real physical example I can think of on the topic of dark matter is the discovery of a galaxy, dragonfly 44, that is made up of very few stars, which has experts thinking that its made up primarily of dark matter in order to hold it together.)
Another experiment done in Hungary had scientists reproduce the conditions of our current astronomical model, and a similar simulation with only dark matter and regular matter ( positively charged matter). Surprisingly, that model created the exact conditions as our current model. Scientists in Denmark have also been working on a similar theory that challenges our current model, and suggests that our universe can exist without these compelling forces.
Soooo….
What gives?
To be honest, and bear with me here…I can’t say for certain. I’m no scientist, and these forces seem to continue to elude the most special of specialists, unable to actually find and establish these forces to further quantify and document them. I just find this all so fascinating. These are forces that have been theorized to have been around for decades. Key powers that we hypothesized as being needed for our existence, and they might not even be real! So if they’re not the things keeping us from bouncing around like pinballs, than what is?!
There is a new theory that has emerged that does continue to push the edge of intriguing. Rather than dark matter and dark energy existing separately, a new theory combines them in the form of dark fluid. Dark fluid, as theorized, would be a negatively charged force that has spread throughout our whole galaxy. If that’s the case, this negatively charged force would repel the positively charged bodies of matter in the cosmos, which would explain how our galaxies are floating along, being held together.
I may not be an expert on space and these compelling energies, but they’re the things that inspire me as someone who likes to explore new things and learn. A lot of it can go over ones head, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a way to digest this info in a way that makes sense. Regardless of your degree of interest, I hope the mysteries surrounding us compel and inspire you as much as they do me. And in a way, you should be interested and inspired, since these are the forces that are either making or breaking (maybe not them, but something is) our star systems!
Feel small yet?
It's All Out There 