Economist Podcasts Babbage: The hunt for dark matter
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Feb 21, 2024 In this enlightening discussion, Don Lincoln, a senior scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Jodi Cooley, executive director of SNOLAB, dive into the elusive world of dark matter. They explore its crucial role in cosmic structure and the innovative detection techniques being developed. The duo highlights groundbreaking research presented at a recent scientific conference, assessing the ongoing challenges and advances in uncovering dark matter's secrets. Will new technologies finally unveil what has long remained hidden?
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Dark Matter's Role
- Dark matter is a theoretical concept proposed to solve astronomical inconsistencies, like the unexpectedly fast rotation of galaxies.
- It's invisible and exerts more gravity than visible matter, potentially comprising five times the amount of ordinary matter.
Detecting the Invisible
- Scientists infer dark matter's existence from observations like galaxies rotating too fast, suggesting unseen gravitational forces.
- Despite extensive searches over decades, dark matter remains elusive, raising questions about our understanding of physics.
Particle Dark Matter
- Particle dark matter is theorized as a gas of heavy subatomic particles throughout space, interacting weakly with ordinary matter.
- Scientists employ various detection methods, including particle detectors, space-based gamma-ray observation, and particle accelerators, to find it.