Dark Energy

The Mystery of Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Dark matter and dark energy make up a hypothetical form of energy that is thought by some to permeate all of space and to work to increase the rate of expansion of the universe.  This is considered a real scientific mystery by some, and others believe that dark matter and energy are real problems in the most basic as well as complex understandings of physics.  Those that believe in the presence of dark energy believe that this is the best explanation for the very recent observations that the universe is expanding at ever increasing rates.  It has been calculated that if dark energy exists, it accounts for just about three quarters of the total mass energy of the universe.  Not everyone believes in this real unsolved mystery, but it is an explanation that makes sense to a growing portion of the population.

Evidence of Unsolved Mystery Science

There is said to be evidence of this unsolved mystery science dating back to Einstein.  The most significant evidence for dark energy dates back to 1998, when observations of type la supernovae by the Supernova Cosmology Project suggested that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.  Since this first observation, there have been many that have corroborated the same observations.  This is by far the most significant evidence, and it’s all based on scientific measurements that involve measuring the scale factor at the time that light was emitted from an object and finding the distance to an object.

Dark matter and energy is not something that everyone agrees on, and much of its nature is up to speculation.  The nature of the dark matter and dark energy is homogeneous, not very dense, and not known to interact with any force other than gravity.  Because the dark matter and dark energy is not dense, it would be hard to measure in a laboratory setting.

Other Explanations for Dark Matter and Energy

The evidence of dark matter and energy in 1998 is very compelling, and more people believe in it than ever before.  But, this unsolved mystery science is explained in other ways by other people.  Many believe that dark energy and cosmic acceleration are simply a failure of general relativity on large scales.  Others have cited ideas for dark energy based on string theory, brane cosmology, and holographic principle, though none of these have been proven.  While dark matter and energy seem very real to some, explaining it is still a real life mystery.

Horizon Problem

What is the Horizon Problem?

As scientists attempt to explain the creation of the universe and the Big Bang, they run into a real unsolved mystery presently termed as “the horizon problem”.  Scientists are truly baffled by this unsolved mystery science phenomena – the fact that the universe is so vast that it has not had any contact with other aspects of the universe, and yet it remains at the same temperature.  A real mystery, there are a number of theories pertaining to the horizon problem and how it is caused.

Horizon Problem Theory

The unsolved mystery science phenomena is a baffling one for scientists because it has been scientifically proven that heat, light, and energy can only travel as fast as the speed of light.  That being the case, the real unsolved mystery lies in the fact that there are various regions in our universe that maintain the same temperatures and properties despite the fact that such regions have never been connected in any way.  Some scientists have attempted to address this real mystery with a variety of theories.

Understanding the Universe

In order to understand the horizon problem that scientists are faced with, one must first understand the concept behind the horizon problem, as well as some basic facts about the universe.  Modern day scientists argue that the universe is some 15 billion years old.  It is also believed that the further one looks into the nighttime sky, the further back in time one sees – this is because it takes so much time for light to travel and reach the earth. Thus, the most distant lights in the sky are some 15 billion years old – here is what scientists define as the particle horizon. Since the universe is only 15 billion years old, scientists have difficulty explaining how certain areas and regions of the universe are the same uniform temperature – for example: if you were to measure the radiation in one cardinal direction and then measure it in the opposite cardinal direction (i.e. East, West), you would find that both regions were precisely the same temperature despite the fact that the distance between the two locations was more than 15 billion years.  If light travels at the speed of light, this should not be possible because what is located in the east has not reached the west, theoretically speaking – herein’ lies the real mystery.

For more information about the Universe visit:
http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/Cosmos/HorizonProblem.html

Pioneer Anomaly

The Mystery of Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Dark matter and dark energy make up a hypothetical form of energy that is thought by some to permeate all of space and to work to increase the rate of expansion of the universe.  This is considered a real scientific mystery by some, and others believe that dark matter and energy are real problems in the most basic as well as complex understandings of physics.  Those that believe in the presence of dark energy believe that this is the best explanation for the very recent observations that the universe is expanding at ever increasing rates.  It has been calculated that if dark energy exists, it accounts for just about three quarters of the total mass energy of the universe.  Not everyone believes in this real unsolved mystery, but it is an explanation that makes sense to a growing portion of the population.

Evidence of Unsolved Mystery Science

There is said to be evidence of this unsolved mystery science dating back to Einstein.  The most significant evidence for dark energy dates back to 1998, when observations of type la supernovae by the Supernova Cosmology Project suggested that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.  Since this first observation, there have been many that have corroborated the same observations.  This is by far the most significant evidence, and it’s all based on scientific measurements that involve measuring the scale factor at the time that light was emitted from an object and finding the distance to an object.

Dark matter and energy is not something that everyone agrees on, and much of its nature is up to speculation.  The nature of the dark matter and dark energy is homogeneous, not very dense, and not known to interact with any force other than gravity.  Because the dark matter and dark energy is not dense, it would be hard to measure in a laboratory setting.

Other Explanations for Dark Matter and Energy

The evidence of dark matter and energy in 1998 is very compelling, and more people believe in it than ever before.  But, this unsolved mystery science is explained in other ways by other people.  Many believe that dark energy and cosmic acceleration are simply a failure of general relativity on large scales.  Others have cited ideas for dark energy based on string theory, brane cosmology, and holographic principle, though none of these have been proven.  While dark matter and energy seem very real to some, explaining it is still a real life mystery.

Placebo Effect

Science offers us many mysteries, and among them is one very real medical mystery.  True medications will heal and protect from disease, but there is a real unsolved mystery surrounding the study of medications – the Placebo Effect.  The placebo effect is an unsolved mystery that scientists and doctors are continually studying.

What is the Placebo Effect

If you place someone on morphine for pain from an injury, and they are on morphine for a week, you can give them neutral saline solution on the eighth day and they will not have any pain.  This is the placebo effect.  Placebo is a Latin word that means “I will please.”  In the medical mystery, true placebos are any medication that should be neutral but still relieves the symptoms the patient is experiencing.  The scientific mystery lies in the fact that there are no properties in the placebo that should cause the relief the patient experiences, yet the relief is very real.  This link, http://skepdic.com/placebo.html, has more information about the theories behind the scientific mystery of the placebo effect.

The Psychological Theory

Some believe that the placebo effect is a purely psychological phenomenon that results from the patient believing that the medication is going to create the desired result.  The mind is a powerful tool, but some studies have showed that this may not be the full answer to this particular medical mystery.  True placebos were given to patients in chronic pain after a series of morphine treatments, and they worked as desired.  When naloxone was added, which normally blocks the effects of morphine on pain, the pain relief from the placebo was lessened significantly.  This points to the fact that there must be more to the scientific mystery of the placebo effect than purely psychological factors.  What that “more” is, scientists still do not know, but it appears to have biochemical causes as well as psychological.

Natural Healing Theory

Some skeptics claim that the only reason there is a placebo effect is that the body’s natural healing process is under way.  Many injuries and illnesses will heal without medical intervention, and these skeptics claim that those who experience relief from placebos are simply healing naturally.  The problem with this theory is that in studies where placebos are given to one group, and no treatment given to another, the group receiving the placebo will heal or improve much faster.

Mind Over Body

In this study, http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4996, scientists were exploring the effect of placebos on patients with Parkinson’s Disease.  What they found was that when Parkinson’s patients were administered a placebo, the neurons in the area of the brain that is treated for Parkinson’s fired less often.  This paralleled an improvement in symptoms.  The problem is that the scientists have no idea why.  This is truly an unsolved mystery.  Science has a long way to go to prove what causes the placebo effect, but this real life mystery does prove one thing – the brain can control more in the body than we ever though, including its biochemistry!