Scientific American launches a new regular video feature
Dark Matter is weird stuff -- "non-baryonic matter," as Scientific American editor George Musser puts it in this minute and a half take on the nature of the mystery substance that makes up the majority of the mass in our universe. This is episode 1 of our new video podcast, which you can subscribe to via iTunes, or via RSS, or check out at our new site, 60 Second Science.
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32 Comments
Add CommentThis is so COOL! Nicely produced evidence based explanation! I'm a physics teacher and I'm requiring all of my students to watch this!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLets not forgot that Dark Matter is just a theory and a shaky one at that. There are other theories based on well known physics that don't require the invention of invisible matter placed strategically in the outer edges of galaxies. Please consider http://www.electric-cosmos.org/indexOLD.htm
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNicely done!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe "Quasi Steady State M odel"proposed by Fred Hoyle & Geoffry Burbidge based on the observations of anomalous redshift detected by Halton Arp can easily explain many anomalies, without invoking dark matter.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat's a very good start!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo they dont realy know if dark matter holds the visible stuff together. They just gave it a name and a theory to go with it. So dark matter only works in outer space? Because on earth things move in all directions. What if there was a supernova, wouldnt that upset the movement of objects in space?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was wondering if they used dark matter in invisible ink?
It all smells a little fishy to me!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo there is not enough matter/energy to account for accelerating expansion of the cosmos. Is there not matter equivalent in voltage difference over stellar and galactic distances? Gravity is not the only force working in the cosmos. It happens that gravitic theorists do not recognize electric energies and come up short of matter and energy that now must be invisible.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"To the extent that the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not true; and to the extent that they are true, they do not refer to reality." Einstein
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Edited by minorwork at 11/22/2007 5:40 AM
not long enough-flesh it out-add details-these topics are worth more than60 seconds
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe ancient Greek concept of ether is starting to look more attractive.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDark matter is based on the gravitational discrepency of observable planets and stars. The difference is attributed to "black matter" However , if black matter has no properties which can be measured - it is just a fabrication to balance gravitational laws.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is clear the dark matter is matter, it attracts other matter by gravity. But why is dark energy "energy"? It seems to relpel other matter. Could it be that anti-mater exhibits anti-gravity? I can not think of any experiment to decide this question that has been performed. If it does exhibit anti-gravity and it there was amtimatter in the early universe, might it explain recent inflation?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI do not use or want Apple's software on my Microsoft computer but I am a paid subscriber and wonder why I have to use software from Apple when the Microsoft video players are already on the vast majority of computers the view your site.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDon Flowers.
I am a 64 bit software user. I have both Vista and Linux on my machine and I cannot use Apple crap because it is ancient and does not run outside the 32 bit world it was designed for. You used to show videos in Windows friendly formats. I suggest you start doing that again because there are exactly 28 million Mac users and nearly a billion windows users. Why use Apple's lame video formats when you could be using video formats every body in the world uses except you now.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am not a pod head nor am I fond of Apple computer and their lame practices and their very lame and ancient video formats.
I guess I have to cancel my subscription here if I can't get to videos designed for a much broader audience. It is sad to see you don't care for mainstream computer users considering how many of us there are.
Don Flowers
Now, on to dark matter. An Isreali science team has shown that dark matter is not needed if we modify Newtonian models just a tiny bit. Newton slipped in a false set of assumptions and labeled them a force. There is no evidence for any form of matter in galaxies but if you change the Newtonian assumptions you get the universe behaving as observed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDon Flowers
not sure the dark matter predominates, clearly thesituaeion is one ofdynamic balance between dark and light forces and masses
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisinteresting. That makes me think about the expansion of the universe. In order for the expansion to occur something must decrease in volume. My solution lies in black holes. If black holes didnt absorbe matter the universe wouldnt expand, it would be stagnant.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDerrick Durroh
wilmington, DE
if matter, radiance and spacetime constitute the basic trinity for manifestation, and, each of the three presented as spectra, then dark matter and dark energy might actually be concentrated spacetime more present closer to the galactic core and most present within the event horizon of the black hole complex
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDark matter is the ocean of SpaceTime that alow the universe to exist in its present state. Without it the forces of nature couldn not have the influence they hold on one another;;;Can a fish live out of water or would I be writing this................
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood laymen explanation. He's pretty funny also.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Dark matter and Dark energy accounts for almost 95% of the whole creation (based on scientific predictions). According to my beliefs, this 95 % stuff is in different dimensions and is the region of universal mind and pure spiritual region. The physical matter we see has no access to these regions as only our soul has access. Scientists will never have any direct access to this 95% stuff. They will only be able to see the impressions cast by this 95% stuff on to our physical dimension (3D+time). The only way to get access to 95% stuff is by....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think the electro magnetic radiation gives mass property to the space time fabric. And this is what is looks like as a non barionic paricle.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf there is dark matter between different stars, which compells them to move as a solid disc; what about the dark matter between the planets in our solar system? All the planets embedded in the dark matter must constitute a solid disc and should rotate about the sun with same angular velocity!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI thought the video was great.
excellent explanation!
I voted thumbs down, on what I thought was a comment made by that 64 bit windows geek who went off on Apple, and it turned out I was voting down on the video....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisApple's video/audio formats are not "lame"; they are newer and better. Your lame Windows player can't even seek, and breaks down streams regularly. Get lost, liar sheep.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMOND doesn't work. Dark matter lenses in galactic collisions.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBEST EXPLANATION I HAVE HERD YET... EXCELENT (at least for me). Thanks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBest explanation I have heard yet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisClear and precise.
Excellent! (for me at least).
Thanks.
Interesting observation, got me thinking that stars, also have there own angular velocity respect to others, and at the same time are embeded in the disc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can only conceive the known universe we live in and science has proven that it physically consists of atoms and neutrons and so on. It with all the Galaxy's and clusters combined makes up only 10% of the known universe... 90% is made up of an invisible thing that science calls dark matter... ( all sorts of waves and subatomic frequencies and stuff that we cant see or feel).
I would like to set the books straight and call this so called dark matter as what it is " the spirit world".
So 10% is planets, people, stars, galaxy's, clusters of galaxy's and the known universe.
90% is the spirit world.
Seem likely that the Almighty could hold the entire universe in the palm of His hand and yet live in the eyes of a bird or even you.
He can live in this 10% of our known universe (which is all I as a mere mortal seem to comprehend) and not only run every planet, but somehow be simultaneous in form on every planet. Bazaar I know, but that is where the unknown universe comes in... the spirit world or dark matter as science calls it.
No mortal can put God in a box. As Solomon once said when He built Him a magnificent temple to dwell in confessed.
The heaven of heavens of heaven can not contain you, how much less this temple I built.
Please read ether=gravity=dark energy theory of gravitoethertons and balloon inside balloon theory of two cyclic universes on a opposite entropy path and modify all equations discarding gravity pull and in spherical co ordinate taking time space separate and let me know. Do not consider any dark matter in our universe as it is only dark energy of various strength as per matter around but dark matter is outside antimatter universe. The links of theories available in --durgadas datta facebook--The theories were published in ASTRONOMY.NET in year 2002 by DURGADAS DATTA. --E-MAIL: durgadas.ddatta@gmail.com.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm confused by this video. I've been thinking about this and would Gravity be an example of dark matter? or do i still have the wrong idea?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this