So we're just about ten years into the discovery that the universe is probably blowing apart due to a cosmic, anti-gravitational force called dark energy. And how much more do we know about it?
Scientists have made some headway, but there are still some frighteningly large questions to be addressed. They now agree that dark energy makes up 75 percent of the cosmos. Dark matter, another mysterious substance, commands a 21 percent share. And as for the protons and electrons we all know and love? A mere sliver of the total, at a paltry four percent. The latest issue of the journal Physics World features reflections and insights from two of the leading dark energy astrophysicists, Eric Linder and Saul Perlmutter, of the University of California, Berkeley. They say that planned and potential space missions - like the probe pictured here - could make the next decade an exciting one for astrophysics. Who knows, maybe we'll get really lucky and understand the nature of ten or even, dare I say, twelve percent of the universe!—Gregory Mone
useless spending in our govt should be scrapped and put towards usefull goals like trying to grasp facts that effect our world as a whole and not just imaginary lines and greed-wars. we all live on this rock together.....dont we
If Dark energy takes up 75% of the universe, where is it? And how can we tell it's even there?
How I understand it is that dark energy is somewhat like the cosmic backround radiation. When all the material of this universe came into being during the big bang (supposedly) and cooled in the first few seconds, a lot of photons were released into the ether of space before any of the protons or electrons, so we are all bathed with these dark aged photons. We can also see evidence of dark energy by the way galaxies are moving apart in the universe. For the amount of mass that we do see in the galaxies, their motion does not fit the mathematical problems. So the astronomers tweak the equations and add more mass and energy, dark matter and dark energy. So what these things really are are screw ups in the equations, where the scientists make the equation fit to our natural environment.
And as for completely shutting down and programs in the US that do this type of research, why? So what if we have millions of dollars being spent in astro-physics research, because of it we are closer to fusion, if dark energy is ever understood we could have another source of cheap, clean energy. And before you start criticizing the space programs just know that the US prison system gets 10 X more funding then the US education system. Don't take away from scientific research, fight against spending millions of dollars a day for a war in Iraq, or the injustice of tax breaks for the extremelly rich, but not space.
Dark energy. It's where all human waste goes, fecal matter. The 90 percent of the universe that's missing is dark brown shit from human rectums.
Dark energy is nothing supernatural. I'm sure the explanation for dark energy is nothing that would boggle our minds in the least. The universe unfortunately came up empty. It's worst case scenario, random chaos. There's no Supreme Being that created it and sits back and watches but never intervenes. Physicist Richard Feynman had a great quote on how life began on this planet and how infinitesimal the chances are that it exists anywhere else in the universe, even microbial life: "It's like a tornado going through a junkyard and assembling a 747."