DARK MATTER
By: Shane Cassidy
What it is Dark matter is the hypothetical form of matter that can not be seen by telescopes and makes up 27% of the universe and might possibly have a association with why there is a vacuum in space
What Makes It Different Dark matter is different from ordinary matter in many ways. Ordinary matter makes up 5% of the universe while dark matter makes up roughly 27%. Ordinary matter is proven and can be seen while dark matter is still theoretical and can't be observed by telescopes. With ordinary matter it is made up of baryons(atoms) while dark matter is made up of freely moving particles. Dark matter also is said to not interact with the electromagnetic forces of the universe
Where It's Found
Dark matter is found in about 27% of the universe. Not to be confused with dark energy that makes up 68% of the universe
Conditions It's Found Under
Dark matter is found in the conditions of the outer space
When It Was Discovered The first person to infer the presence of dark matter was Dutch astronomer Jan Oort in 1932
Research Being Done There are many companies and universities that are working on dark matter such as NASA, people at the CERN Super collider and Cal Tech
Companies are using the ANAIS particle accelerator and GLAST gamma ray telescope to help aid in the detection of dark matter and the CERN Super Collider is being doing experiments where dark matter could be created, but if It was, it would slip right through the sensors and detectors unnoticed
To Learn More •
About CERN: http://home.web.cern.ch
•
About NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/ mission_pages/GLAST/science/dark_matter.html
•
Dark Matter: http://science.nasa.gov/ astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/