THE DARK PRESENCE OF DARK MATTER
Dark matter is undoubtedly one of the half-solved mysteries of the universe. The existence of dark matter is suspected in many areas of our universe and is even believed to constitute 85% of the total energy density but we cannot see it, observe it or even manipulate it by conventional means like normal matter. Dark matter is much like Ronald Weaseley’s deluminator because it ends up absorbing the light emitted by normal matter.
Dark matter is
quite intriguing because even though its presence is suspected, much of its
characters are still unknown. The origin of dark matter could be traced back to
the 1600s. Although Jacob Kapteyn first raised speculations regarding the
concept of dark matter via stellar velocities, it was Fritz Zwicky (anonymously
considered as the father of dark matter) who ended up applying the virial
theorem to the Coma cluster of galaxies. In simpler words, he just found it odd
that a whole bunch of galaxies could remain bound together while moving at
tremendous speeds even though they did not seem to possess enough visible
matter to pull off this deadly stunt. Therefore, the ability of dark matter to
shape various galaxies was brought into limelight.
Often people
harbour the notion that antimatter is simply a fancier name for dark matter but in
reality, they are widely different from each other. Antimatter is basically
plain old matter with some of its properties flipped (an electron and positron
for example). While dark matter is on a whole another level. Astronomers have
proposed WIMPS (Weakly interacting massive particles, not the diary of a Wimpy
Kid which immediately pops into our minds) as possible candidates for dark
matter. Dark matter does not react with visible electromagnetic radiation but
it does seem to possess some love for gravitational forces but for that, we need
to procure planet-sized masses which is highly impossible. Because of this
reason as well as many others, the path towards the identification of dark
matter has come to a standstill but one can always hope for the best.
-Chandrika Sarkar
Biotechnology 1st year
-Chandrika Sarkar
Biotechnology 1st year
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