If one sheds a bit of light on dark energy and dark matter, do they then become gray?…
The Gray Lady of 43rd Street has a nice new article that explores the background & implications of the twin monkeys on the back of contemporary cosmology.
The 1st simian is dark energy, which is simply the label attached to that pervasive mysterious antigravitational force that is pushing everything apart. D-E is thought to account for 74% of everything in the universe, is shifting the Big-Bang into overdrive, and 1 day, this super-shredder might even tear apart your atoms.
The 2nd is dark matter, which a polite way of saying that there’s a lot of missing mass around, and that the universe has a much higher BMI than previously thought. But, if one had to be overweight, this would be the way to go, because no one can see the stuff.
So what does all this mean? We’ve no idea, but we’ve included a picture of some dark matter for your reference.
Out There – New York Times, March 11 2007
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I hate the thought of all my atoms being torn apart. I’ve grown attached to them.
It’s fascinating to think of the Big Bang as not only an ongoing process, but also one that’s actually speeding up.
I don’t think dark matter ever becomes gray, GadgetManiac. The phrase “gray matter” is already taken!