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	<title>Comments on: Dark matter is for WIMPs</title>
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	<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/</link>
	<description>I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog.</description>
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		<title>By: Bobby</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/comment-page-2/#comment-154448</link>
		<dc:creator>Bobby</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:02:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/#comment-154448</guid>
		<description>I have no credentials for typing this and please excuse the typos, I just have an idea...that&#039;s all and any feedback would be apreciated.

I&#039;ve decided that dark matter wants to turn every piece of matter inside out.  I think that&#039;s what makes gravity.... Dark matter is gravity without the matter.  So take everything out of the universe.  No big bang, no matter, no gas, no anything.  There wouldn&#039;t be any gravity because dark matter has nothing to pull on.  Then put a spec of dust in space...and dark matter already pulls on it and this spec now has a little gravity.  Because dark matter is all around, it pulls in every direction, so put a planet in the universe now...and it wants to pull everything to the center.  Now fast forward and put more matter in the universe... Everything (that isn&#039;t already attatched to something else) will have gravity all on it&#039;s own in outer space.  Just like planets and solar systems colliding, galaxies collide too.  Because there is no wind resistance and everything is free to float around in the fabric of space, leads me to think 2 things....Either one day everything in the universe (if it can be counted for) will come together into one ball.  The density and mass will be so great it will pull so hard on itself creating massive ammounts of heat and energy that it will again &quot;blow up&quot;.  Kinda like when large stars blow up then make black holes.  2 Just like the first part..the big ball of matter will pull so hard on itslef that it will be reduced to something so small and dense that dark matter will pull on it so hard it would be blown out of the other side of where this dark matter is trying to pull everything.  But if it&#039;s blown out of the other side, I would think things would start all over again...Just like the infinity sign. 

Think of it like magnetism...the opposite poles attract eachother.  Now throw in a spec of magnetized dust.  Do you think it would one day get stuck in the middle of the &quot;infinity&quot; sign or just keep traveling back and forth between the poles.  Put 2 specs of magnetized dust now.  Eventually they would attract to each other and become one big piece of dust with a stronger N. and S. pull.  Now put a ton of magnetised dust in the infinity sign.  would it just travel forever between the poles or would it get stuck in the middle one day and have each pole pulling its opposite pole on the piece of dust.  Now give the infinity sign an unlimited ammount of magnetic pull.  The harder the poles pulled the more dense the piece of dust would get....so much in fact that it would get hot and the core would turn to liquid.  

So the stronger the pull from the outside, the stronger the pull on the inside.  Like a knot that gets pulled equally as hard on both sides of the rope...the tighter the knot is.     Now this pulls so hard that eventually one side of the rope will break.  But the universe is not a rope....so what happens?  This applies to everything from planets to stars to galaxies and even to particles.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I have no credentials for typing this and please excuse the typos, I just have an idea&#8230;that&#8217;s all and any feedback would be apreciated.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve decided that dark matter wants to turn every piece of matter inside out.  I think that&#8217;s what makes gravity&#8230;. Dark matter is gravity without the matter.  So take everything out of the universe.  No big bang, no matter, no gas, no anything.  There wouldn&#8217;t be any gravity because dark matter has nothing to pull on.  Then put a spec of dust in space&#8230;and dark matter already pulls on it and this spec now has a little gravity.  Because dark matter is all around, it pulls in every direction, so put a planet in the universe now&#8230;and it wants to pull everything to the center.  Now fast forward and put more matter in the universe&#8230; Everything (that isn&#8217;t already attatched to something else) will have gravity all on it&#8217;s own in outer space.  Just like planets and solar systems colliding, galaxies collide too.  Because there is no wind resistance and everything is free to float around in the fabric of space, leads me to think 2 things&#8230;.Either one day everything in the universe (if it can be counted for) will come together into one ball.  The density and mass will be so great it will pull so hard on itself creating massive ammounts of heat and energy that it will again &#8220;blow up&#8221;.  Kinda like when large stars blow up then make black holes.  2 Just like the first part..the big ball of matter will pull so hard on itslef that it will be reduced to something so small and dense that dark matter will pull on it so hard it would be blown out of the other side of where this dark matter is trying to pull everything.  But if it&#8217;s blown out of the other side, I would think things would start all over again&#8230;Just like the infinity sign. </p>
<p>Think of it like magnetism&#8230;the opposite poles attract eachother.  Now throw in a spec of magnetized dust.  Do you think it would one day get stuck in the middle of the &#8220;infinity&#8221; sign or just keep traveling back and forth between the poles.  Put 2 specs of magnetized dust now.  Eventually they would attract to each other and become one big piece of dust with a stronger N. and S. pull.  Now put a ton of magnetised dust in the infinity sign.  would it just travel forever between the poles or would it get stuck in the middle one day and have each pole pulling its opposite pole on the piece of dust.  Now give the infinity sign an unlimited ammount of magnetic pull.  The harder the poles pulled the more dense the piece of dust would get&#8230;.so much in fact that it would get hot and the core would turn to liquid.  </p>
<p>So the stronger the pull from the outside, the stronger the pull on the inside.  Like a knot that gets pulled equally as hard on both sides of the rope&#8230;the tighter the knot is.     Now this pulls so hard that eventually one side of the rope will break.  But the universe is not a rope&#8230;.so what happens?  This applies to everything from planets to stars to galaxies and even to particles.</p>
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		<title>By: explosion</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/comment-page-2/#comment-118544</link>
		<dc:creator>explosion</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:19:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/#comment-118544</guid>
		<description>First of all, thanks for your articles, they&#039;re quite popular and accessible.

&gt; The very small and the very big are connected in a fundamental way, and it’s only been through science that we’ve perceived that connection.

&#039;We&#039; as the whole WoMankind? Or just the scientific community? ,)
Spiritual (and I don&#039;t think it&#039;s a very bad word (Philip Says), as far as words go) investigators, that go more by the ways of feeling and sensing oneself + Universe, than by logging down and analyzing, have perceived it thousands of years ago. 

In no way do I mean that as offense, on the contrary, I rejoice seeing science and spiritual discovering more and more points of intersection.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>First of all, thanks for your articles, they&#8217;re quite popular and accessible.</p>
<p>> The very small and the very big are connected in a fundamental way, and it’s only been through science that we’ve perceived that connection.</p>
<p>&#8216;We&#8217; as the whole WoMankind? Or just the scientific community? ,)<br />
Spiritual (and I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a very bad word (Philip Says), as far as words go) investigators, that go more by the ways of feeling and sensing oneself + Universe, than by logging down and analyzing, have perceived it thousands of years ago. </p>
<p>In no way do I mean that as offense, on the contrary, I rejoice seeing science and spiritual discovering more and more points of intersection.</p>
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		<title>By: The Strange Milky Way &#171; Gregory Scheckler Artworks</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/comment-page-2/#comment-73018</link>
		<dc:creator>The Strange Milky Way &#171; Gregory Scheckler Artworks</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 16:35:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/#comment-73018</guid>
		<description>[...] searched for, and marked off the list — and the candidates that remain get pretty weird (like WIMPs). But we know it&#8217;s real, and we know it&#8217;s out there. We just don&#8217;t know what it [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] searched for, and marked off the list — and the candidates that remain get pretty weird (like WIMPs). But we know it&#8217;s real, and we know it&#8217;s out there. We just don&#8217;t know what it [...]</p>
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		<title>By: Arthur</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/comment-page-2/#comment-73017</link>
		<dc:creator>Arthur</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:17:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/#comment-73017</guid>
		<description>All this is so confusing to a layperson. I am not a physicist, mathematician or astronomer. The only physics/maths I did was up to year twelve. However everyone has become so esoteric in each field how could you pass a new theory or concept to the general community? Everyone speaks in acronyms and synonyms. Please (for a layperson) keep it simple. There are questions that puzzle me. Therefore, I am asking if anyone out there is kind enough to respond to the following questions:

Dark Matter / Dark Energy: is this what pre-Einstein ether was?
Was Tesla right and Einstein wrong?
Why did Einstein have to twig his original theory on relativity? Could both his theories be wrong?
From what I remember, light rays/waves (and all the spectrum of waves) can self propagate through space because they are made up of magnetic and energy fields (at right angles to each other). What happens if the magnetic field is taken away to the energy field in waves and vice versa? Firstly, can this be done or am I way off here? Does Bark Matter have anything to do with the propagation of magnetic or energy or both fields?

One thing that I do not understand is the big bang theory. Apparently, (from what I hear and read) at one stage in time all matter was condensed and an explosion occurred and the universe developed with all its galaxies, stars, planets etc and due to the big bang the universe is expanding.

Then, where was the dark matter when all was one big mass?
Was the Dark Matter mixed with the Matter we know off, or did the Dark Matter encompass the matter we know off?
Are the galaxies moving apart because the dark matter is “pushing them apart”?

Is Dark Matter expanding too, as the Universe (if it is matter)? If not, then does it mean it was present before, and after the Big Bang?

What if all matter is removed from the universe does it mean that Dark Matter is what is left?

It can’t be a particle or energy, remembering that E=MC2. Am I wrong here?

Is E=MC2 too simplistic?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>All this is so confusing to a layperson. I am not a physicist, mathematician or astronomer. The only physics/maths I did was up to year twelve. However everyone has become so esoteric in each field how could you pass a new theory or concept to the general community? Everyone speaks in acronyms and synonyms. Please (for a layperson) keep it simple. There are questions that puzzle me. Therefore, I am asking if anyone out there is kind enough to respond to the following questions:</p>
<p>Dark Matter / Dark Energy: is this what pre-Einstein ether was?<br />
Was Tesla right and Einstein wrong?<br />
Why did Einstein have to twig his original theory on relativity? Could both his theories be wrong?<br />
From what I remember, light rays/waves (and all the spectrum of waves) can self propagate through space because they are made up of magnetic and energy fields (at right angles to each other). What happens if the magnetic field is taken away to the energy field in waves and vice versa? Firstly, can this be done or am I way off here? Does Bark Matter have anything to do with the propagation of magnetic or energy or both fields?</p>
<p>One thing that I do not understand is the big bang theory. Apparently, (from what I hear and read) at one stage in time all matter was condensed and an explosion occurred and the universe developed with all its galaxies, stars, planets etc and due to the big bang the universe is expanding.</p>
<p>Then, where was the dark matter when all was one big mass?<br />
Was the Dark Matter mixed with the Matter we know off, or did the Dark Matter encompass the matter we know off?<br />
Are the galaxies moving apart because the dark matter is “pushing them apart”?</p>
<p>Is Dark Matter expanding too, as the Universe (if it is matter)? If not, then does it mean it was present before, and after the Big Bang?</p>
<p>What if all matter is removed from the universe does it mean that Dark Matter is what is left?</p>
<p>It can’t be a particle or energy, remembering that E=MC2. Am I wrong here?</p>
<p>Is E=MC2 too simplistic?</p>
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		<title>By: Oratio</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/comment-page-2/#comment-73016</link>
		<dc:creator>Oratio</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:24:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/#comment-73016</guid>
		<description>Well, it is important to remember that the theory about dark matter isnt a fact until they find WIMPs or some other particle turning out to be the actual alleged dark matter. There is also the thoery of &quot;TeVeS&quot;, that is worth checking out. Dont just accept everything that is put to print, dont turn science into religion. Be critical to everything until its utterly proven.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well, it is important to remember that the theory about dark matter isnt a fact until they find WIMPs or some other particle turning out to be the actual alleged dark matter. There is also the thoery of &#8220;TeVeS&#8221;, that is worth checking out. Dont just accept everything that is put to print, dont turn science into religion. Be critical to everything until its utterly proven.</p>
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		<title>By: Egaeus</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/comment-page-1/#comment-73015</link>
		<dc:creator>Egaeus</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:14:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/#comment-73015</guid>
		<description>You know, reading this, it seems that while dark matter is a theory, so far WIMPs are more of a hypothesis.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You know, reading this, it seems that while dark matter is a theory, so far WIMPs are more of a hypothesis.</p>
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		<title>By: Tom Marking</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/comment-page-1/#comment-73014</link>
		<dc:creator>Tom Marking</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:03:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/27/dark-matter-is-for-wimps/#comment-73014</guid>
		<description>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_anomaly

Assuming that the so-called Pioneer anomaly is real then would any of the proposed theories for dark matter such as WIMPs explain it?  Could you have enough WIMPs in a volume the size of the solar system to affect the trajectory of spacecraft to the measured amount? - which appears to be a sunward acceleration for both the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft of 8.74E-10 m/s^2 which is anomalous under existing theories of physics.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_anomaly" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_anomaly</a></p>
<p>Assuming that the so-called Pioneer anomaly is real then would any of the proposed theories for dark matter such as WIMPs explain it?  Could you have enough WIMPs in a volume the size of the solar system to affect the trajectory of spacecraft to the measured amount? &#8211; which appears to be a sunward acceleration for both the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft of 8.74E-10 m/s^2 which is anomalous under existing theories of physics.</p>
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