At this summer’s Lindau Nobel Laureates meeting in Germany, the participating laureates and young researchers came from all over the world, but they had one thing in common: physics. The Nature Video team filmed five debates on issues that matter to the current generation of physicists. Is dark matter real? How can we solve the looming energy crisis? How is physics perceived by the public?

The result was a five-episode film series, as well as the trailer below, in which the filmmakers provide a preview of the discussions and disagreements that emerged.

For the first film in the series, the researchers focused on the Hubble Space Telescope, which has revealed numerous distant galaxies and planets orbiting other stars, deepening our knowledge of the universe. Nobel prizewinner John Mather works on Hubble’s replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope. He thinks we are in a golden age of astronomy. But the young researchers he met with at Lindau were not convinced. There are too many unanswered questions, they said. For example: what’s causing the accelerated expansion of the universe? Watch the film below to learn how Mather and fellow laureate Brian Schmidt, who first observed this expansion, handled the queries.

6 Comments

1. 1. jtdwyer 06:46 PM 9/19/12

   Dark matter is only real to those who truly believe...
   Please see:
   
   Inappropriate Application of Kepler's Empirical Laws of Planetary Motion to Spiral Galaxies Created the Perceived Galaxy Rotation Problem - Thereby Establishing a Galactic Presence for the Elusive, Inferred Dark Matter by James T. Dwyer
   http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/1419
   
   A New Model Without Dark Matter for the Rotation of Spiral Galaxies: The Connections Among Shape, Kinematics and Evolution by Mario Everaldo de Souza
   http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/1290

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2. 2. vinodkumarsehgal 10:13 AM 9/20/12

   I don't find any link for activating the quoted trailer

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3. 3. basudeba 11:10 PM 9/20/12

   Dark matter and dark energy concepts are faulty from the beginning. If it does not interact with ordinary matter (hence dark), it cannot be energy only because unlike matter it is smooth and persistent. After all, energy is perceived only through its interaction with matter. It is a back ground structure of the universe, which can only be explained by a different theory of gravity. We have submitted a paper on this to Gravity Research Foundation.
   
   Dark matter concept is based on the galaxy rotation problem. Here also, the apparent acceleration of distant galaxies have been wrongly interpreted. Expansion of the universe is not evident at local scales of a galaxy. If the universe is expanding, then like a spot on the balloon, it should be evident at local scales also. The explanation for the redshift is that, the universe is spinning on its axis and the galaxies are rotating against a common axis. Thus, depending upon their distance, sometimes they appear to be moving away from each other while at other times they will close in just like the planets in the Solar system. The observation is insignificant over cosmic time scales.
   
   basedeba

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4. 4. vinodkumarsehgal in reply to basudeba 01:53 AM 9/21/12

   Yes, dark matter and dark energy are not interacting with ordinary baryonik matter the way e.m energy is interacting with ordinary matter. But absence of e.m interaction should not amount to nil interaction. It might be casting its influence upon ordinary matter gravitationally or thru some unknown force.
   
   "The explanation for the redshift is that, the universe is spinning on its axis and the galaxies are rotating against a common axis"
   
   Your above idea of spinning of entire universe around a common axis to explain the red shift appears sound but it raises a nos. of issues :
   
   i) Within which space universe is spinning. Any system when it spins requires some additional space within which it will rotate. Planets spin within space of solar system, solar system within galactic space, galaxies within space of a cluster and clusters within space of universe. But what about entire universe?
   ii) It is not known if universe is finite or infinite. If universe is infinite, what is the meaning of spinning of infinite universe?
   iii) Even if we may take into consideration observable universe, where will be the common axis of spinning?
   iv) As on date, there is no evidence -- direct or indirect regarding spinning of universe
   
   

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5. 5. vinodkumarsehgal in reply to basudeba 02:27 AM 9/21/12

   further to comment 4
   
   I have pondered over again your concept of spinning of universe. One possibility can not be ruled out. Our universe -- observable or otherwise as we know might be rotating around the space of of a multiverse. A galaxy is also a very large gravitationally held configuration of massive objects. If a galaxy can spin and have orbital motion, spinning and orbital motion of universe can not be ruled out entirely.
   
   But one thing more. Discrete individual massive objects like sun, planets and black holes spins around their axis as well as orbit around a common point. But does a system of gravitationally held massive bodies like our solar system also spins around a common axis? For example, our solar system rotating around galactic center of MW. Does our solar system also spins as a whole around some common axis?
   
   Have astronomers determined the spinning speeds ( not revolving/orbiting) of our solar system or MW galaxy?

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6. 6. basudeba 08:49 AM 9/21/12

   Dear Sir,
   You are almost near the truth. We have pointed out that the so-called dark energy is a background structure. Thus, it can contain infinite number of universes. We simply do not and cannot know.
   
   All massive objects are finite. Thus, the universe, if considered one massive whole, must be finite - hence closed.
   
   The latest observation from CMB points out a so-called "axis of evil", which shows that the universe may not be homogeneous all around and might have a direction after all. If conformed, this will reply your third question.
   
   All objects in universe spin. Thus, the universe should also spin on its axis. But this spin is different from what you have imagined. The Sun spins around its axis. All planets spin around their axis and revolve (a different type of spin) around a common axis (Sun). The universe behaves like that.
   
   We have detailed the mechanism in our blog. You may visit basudeba.blogspot.com

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