Much of science is performed through inference, with the readings on instruments, a flash of light in heavy water, or the results of parsing through terabytes of sensor data after a particle accelerator collision either backing up a proposed scenario or weakening its foundations.
In the case of so-called dark matter, this is even more relevant, as we are talking about a proposed form of matter whose most pertinent feature is that it doesn’t interact with anything else except through gravity. This is where the wiggling of a levitating magnet may be the key to detecting it.
In this experimental setup by Rice University and Dutch researchers at the Leiden Institute, a tiny permanent magnet the size of a grain of sand is levitated above a superconductor, surrounded by highly sensitive detectors that should be able to spot even minuscule movements. So far, they have collected a month’s worth of data, with no conclusive results yet.
Even if they don’t detect any ‘knocks’ on this tiny levitating magnet, it will still help refine existing models of what dark matter’s properties might be. For the next phase of this research, they’ll add more of these sensors, which will also make it easier to distinguish background noise from any unusual readings.
The hunt has been on for some time. We’ve talked about [Vera Ruben’s] contributions and the mysteries that prompted the idea that it might exist.
I’m noticing a serious lack of women in this photo, which is a shame because it was Lisa Meitner who discovered superconduction in the first place.
Do you have a photo of her, or of Vera Rubens who is referred to above, to contribute?
i hope i live long enough to see a halfway decent explanation of some of cosmology’s mysteries. watching physicists chase the (imo) dead ends of dark matter / dark energy is discouraging. getting more and more esoteric in quantum mechanics without resolving any of its deeper questions is discouraging too. we’re past due for a genuine breakthrough imo
How did it go in the Simpsons, when professor Frink made the particle accelerator that proved they need a bigger particle accelerator.
“… either backing up a proposed scenario or weakening its foundations …”
Yup. Perfectly captures the attitude of cosmologists seeking funding.
None of this falsifiability nonsense, thank you very much.