Of al the many mysteries of modern astronomy,

none is more vexing than the nature of

This article was originally published with the title Does Dark Matter Really Exist?.

4 Comments

1. 1. Daniel35 04:41 PM 4/23/09

   
   "The need for extra matter [dark matter] arises not only in well-formed galactic systems but also throughout the universe at large. Long before the galaxies even formed, the universe was filled with a plasma of atomic nuclei and subatomic particles. Radiation suffused the plasma and kept it extremely smooth."
   
   Me: Why would radiation do this? Assuming it's coming from all directions and is basically neutral, why should it have any such net effect?
   
   "[Galaxies etc. couldn't form] until the plasma had turned into neutral gas, which does not interact with radiation as strongly. We know when this neutralization occurred and what the strength of the density fluctuations was then. The problem is that there just wasn't enough time for those fluctuations to become the galaxies we observe [without the existence of extra neutral matter not so much effected by radiation]."
   
   Me: How do they know about when, the strength of fluctuations or how much time it takes?
   
   "...part of this extra matter could consist of ordinary matter that gives off too little radiation for present technology to detect ... more precisely called dim matter. It could represent up to 10 times as much matter as astronomers see, but even so it could account for only a small fraction of the missing mass."
   
   Me: How do they know it has to be this small an amount?
   
   In general, how many assumptions were involved in their chains of reasoning? It sounds rather like numerology, where we use a few coincidences, some science and some assumptions to create a universe of 'fact'. I think they should admit there are still many mysteries in the universe, about which they can only make vague guesses, and don't try to create more.
   
   Especially considering that the rich get richer, every profession has financial motivations. Many people serve these by making themselves seem more important and more deserving of public wealth. Cosmology, and 'pure' science in general, should be considered mental recreation, sometimes useful in that exercising the brain often leads to things useful back here on Earth. But let's don't put a lot of effort or money into those that don't seem to be doing that. For instance the most useful parts of astronomy are spotting asteroids that we might meet some day in our various orbits around the sun, or maybe better understanding the sun and how it may or may not be causing global warming. It 's fun to look at cosmic pictures from Hubble telescope, but let's be sure we're taking care of the here and now first.

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2. 2. cigarshaped in reply to Daniel35 07:18 PM 11/15/09

   "[Galaxies etc. couldn't form] until the plasma had turned into neutral gas, which does not interact with radiation as strongly. We know when this neutralization occurred and what the strength of the density fluctuations was then. The problem is that there just wasn't enough time for those fluctuations to become the galaxies we observe [without the existence of extra neutral matter not so much effected by radiation]."
   
   And what makes us think plasma (99.9% of the universe) is neutral gas?? The evidence is to the contrary. Plasma forms by charge separation and thus causes electrical differences across vast distances of space. Plasma forms filaments not smooth soups - it naturally entwines and focuses energy at points. These points (z-pinches) become the hearts of galaxies and stars.
   
   So why do we need dark matter?

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3. 3. debu 07:06 AM 6/17/10

   IN SHORT DARK MATTER IS OUTSIDE ANTIMATTER UNIVERSE. READ BALLOON INSIDE BALLOON THEORY OF DURGADAS DATTA PUBLISHED IN ASTRONOMY.NET IN 2002.

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4. 4. donzzz 08:44 PM 1/5/11

   http://novan.com/dark-matter.htm
   DARK MATTER - WHO NEEDS IT? - Scientists invented dark matter to account for the additional mass needed to keep the galaxies from flying apart. Rather then additional mass that cannot be seen or even shown to exist, this article advocates a variable inertial mass that will do the job. I call it "space energy level".
   All matter has two energies one is momentum the other is inertial mass. Momentum energy is relative to other bodies, "Inertial mass" energy is relative to absolute space. It has no motion but is inertial mass does vary.
   On the outlying regions of galaxies where the momentum is greater so too is the inertial mass. This is the dark energy cosmologists are looking for.
   Space energy level and dark matter are essentially the same thing.
   "Space Energy Level" concept - Chapter 15 & 16 in "The Mind of Mankind" ISBN-09649226512 published 1996
   http://novan.com

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