Our universe torn apart by dark matter
Now this is a little difficult to get your head around, but scientists say our universe was destroyed just after birth.
About a billion years after the Big Bang, all the fledgling hydrogen atoms were torn to shreds.
It was a case of rip it up and start again for existence - but what caused it?
Well a new suspect has been fingered by astronomers.
Dark matter.
In theory, the intergalactic boogie-man blew up every atom in the universe.
If two dark matter particles hit each other they explode, releasing ionizing radiation which would have fried the infant hydrogen and stop universe 1.0 in its tracks.
There's no chance this will happen again, luckily. Or so we think at the moment...
Here's a few facts about dark matter:
Dark matter is space matter we cannot see because, unlike stars and galaxies, it does not give off light.
There is much more dark matter in the universe than bright. Some scientists think 90 per cent of matter is dark.
Astronomers know about dark matter because its gravity pulls on stars and galaxies, changing their orbits and the way they rotate.
The visible stars in the Milky Way are only a thin central slice, embedded in a big bun-shaped ball of dark matter.
The future of the universe may depend on how much dark matter there is. If there is too much, its gravity will eventually stop the universe's expansion - and make it shrink again.
If there's too little, the universe will continue to expand into a cold, lifeless old age.
Weird Science Factoid: The most productive day of the workweek is Tuesday. By Friday you're mush...
Join the Weird Science Facebook group here, or follow us on Twitter here or by searching for weirdsciblog.
Want to be sent the 'best' of the Weird Sci Blog every month? Then sign up for Weird News - a newsletter containing more info about the subjects we cover, plus some extra stuff that didn't make the blog. Interested? Subscribe by e-mailing wscience@me.com with the title 'count me in' and we'll do the rest.
Older/Newer
« Nice guys don't always finish last | Space tourism the norm come 2038 »
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Our universe torn apart by dark matter.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.sundaymercury.net/cgi-bin/mt421/mt-tb.cgi/159935
2 Comments
Leave a comment
Authors
Daniel Smith - a long time ago, in a galaxy far away just north of Watford, Daniel fancied himself as a scientist but turned out to be the worst scientist since that bloke who mapped out all those canals on Mars that turned out to be scratches on his telescope's lens. Luckily, he is now not working on the Large Hadron Collider inadvertently creating a black hole that would swallow the world but is safely behind a desk writing this blog, bringing you the fantastical underbelly of nature... weird science.
"Well a new suspect has been fingered by atsronomers."
The sexual innuendo is only made worse by the typo. :|
Why would you use that phrase? How awkward.
Thanks for the heads up over the typo. Errr... sexual innuendo in a story about dark matter? To 'finger a suspect' is to accuse someone - and is a common phrase. For instance, 'But sometimes the prints are not clear enough to finger a suspect' (New Scientist).