Running head: Dark Matter

Dark Matter Wyatt Woodard Salt Lake Community College

Dark Matter Abstract The Universe is a vast and mysterious. Mankind through the ages has studied it and its many components of which it is made up of. The mysteriousness of our universe is the key factor in

what makes it so unique. From black holes to quarks, our universe offers us a whole spectrum of mystery and curiosity about its inner and outer workings. This research paper will be focused on a very timely and interesting part of our universe: dark matter and/or dark energy. The information and research gathered in this paper will inform the reader of five ideas: 1. what is dark matter and does it exist? 2. Where does it reside? 3. What are its consequences? 4. What part does it play in our universe? 5. What are opposing arguments against the existence of dark matter? The research paper will be beneficial to reader by revealing yet another one of the grand mysteries of our universe.

Dark Matter Amongst the scientific community, there are many timely topics that have scientists quarreling amongst each other. Scientists are constantly trying to come up with hypotheses, methods, and facts that help make these topics of debate a little bit more clear. There are some topics that are easier to present facts for, however, there are some subjects that still have scientists questioning and reasoning and searching for answers, topics that tend to have a darker side. Dark matter is one of those topics with a darker side. Dark matter as a whole acts like a place-holder or in other words like an x or y variant in algebra. Place-holders signify something unknown and unseen, hence why a place-holder is likened to dark matter, because it also is something unknown and unseen. Although dark matter is mysterious within itself, science does know a fair amount about it. A few points that are known about dark matter and that help us further understand it consist of: what it actually is, where it resides, what roles it plays, what is its role in determining the fate of the universe, and the denial of the actual existence of dark matter and other opposing arguments. Dark matter behaves differently than normal matter. Normal matter includes: galaxies, stars, planets, asteroids, and all of the living and non living things on Earth. These things are classified as Baryonic matter, all of which emit or absorb light and some different kinds of electromagnetic waves. Dark matter does neither; we know it exists because it emits a gravitational pull on other objects. By studying spiral galaxies in the 1950s and 1960s a puzzling discovery was made. They expected to see the stars towards the center of the galaxy,

where more of the concentrated mass is located, have a faster rotational velocity than the stars at the edge of the galaxy. They found out however that both group of stars had the exact same rotational velocity. This caused researchers to come to two conclusions: 1.Our understanding of

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gravity and rotation must be incorrect. This however seemed like an very unlikely reason due to the fact Newtons Laws of gravity and rotation have withstood examination over the course of several centuries. 2. This led to the next reason being that there would have to be in existence, an invisible type of matter and accordingly we have dark matter. Mapping and trying to locate where dark matter resides in space has brought up many interesting discoveries. Astronomers trying to locate and map out where dark matter exists have turned to modern technology or the use of computers to map out and draw where the odd stuff inhabits space. They make a pretty educated guess on how much baryonic matter (planets, stars, living and non living organisms, etc. also that emit and absorb light) and how much dark matter exist in space, then they leave it up to the computer to give them a picture idea of where everything is located, especially the location of the dark matter. Astronomers have found out that it exists almost everywhere in our galaxy and it has a very interesting role. What is very interesting is that astronomers have found that dark matter gathers itself in lump-like clusters and long stringy clusters almost as if they were building a spider-like web. They act as if they bind and stick galaxies together as a spider would hold intact its insect prey. One could say that dark matter plays the role of binding the universe together as a sort of connective ligaments spanned and intertwined across a space skeletal system. Dark matter also plays a significant role in determining the course and fate of our universe. According to the big-bang theory, after there was a giant and cosmic explosion, the universe went through a period of expansion and still today it is expanding. This brings up a very important question: since the universe is constantly expanding, will it always expand, or

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will there be time when it comes to a stop? Due to the fact that there are clumped and grouped together galaxies, this must mean that there is left over matter from the big bang, both baryonic and dark matter. Gravity is dependent upon the matter of the universe and expansion is dependent upon gravity. There are three scenarios in which are galaxy could take part: 1. it becomes a closed universe- if the actual mass density becomes greater than the critical mass density, then the universe will expand for a short while and later on down the road stop, become cold and collapse back onto itself. 2. It becomes a critical or flat universe- if both types of masses equal each other and the universe continues to expand for a short while then stops becoming cold. 3. The universe becomes an open or coasting universe- the actual mass density is less than that of the critical mass density which results in the universe continuing to expand and with no change in the rate of expansion. Light and dark matter must be included to find out the amount of both densities hence why dark matter plays an important role. This theory however is left open to debate and there are those who deny that it exists. Many scientists dont accept or buy the theory of dark matter and there are some who outright deny that it exists. There are scientists who believe that Newtons laws and Einsteins improvement to those laws have met their match. Others consider dark matter to be sort of an optical illusion, resulting from different gravitational charges creating dipoles, or in laymens terms, massive objects with gravitational fields. The dipoles become polarized which in turn fortifies the galaxys gravitational field. This would mean that there would be no need to hypothesize about some new exotic form of matter.

Dark Matter In conclusion, we see that dark matter is a very interesting and timely topic. If dark matter were to exist, this shows that along with our ever expanding galaxy, technology and

science are also expanding mankinds knowledge and interest of our universe and how it works. We now have a good idea of what dark matter is, where it resides, what is its function, what role does it play in our universes fate, and also what some other alternatives could be for the odd but fascinating cosmic glue. Although dark matter tends to have and actual dark side, we see that if it exists, it plays an actual fundamental role in stabilizing our universe.

Works Cited
Geographic, N. (n.d.). Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Retrieved from National Geographic: http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/dark-matter/ NASA. (2013, April 30). Dark Matter, Dark Energy. Retrieved from NASA Science, Astrophysics: http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/ William Harris and Craig Freudenrich, P. (n.d.). How Dark Matter Works. Retrieved from How Stuff Works Inc.: http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/astronomy-terms/dark-matter.htm