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.