English 1, Long Beach City College, Professor Allen Bundy, April 1991 By James R.

Walker

A Matter Unseen

It was a brisk summer night in the high desert, twenty years ago, when I first laid eyes on the milky way. I was dazzled and awe struck. How did all those stars get there, I thought. Little did realize that I was not the only one asking the same question. Today, astrophysicists are seeking answers to that same question arid in doing so have had to reevaluate some fundamental concepts associated with modern theories of the Big Bang, which postulates that a tiny point of infinitely dense mass exploded creating space and sending vast amounts of matter out into it. It was soon evident that evolving scientific data revealed numerous inconsistencies between what was postulated and what was being observed in space. For example, it was discovered in the 1960s by Martin Hubble that the universe is in constant expansion. In order to have expanded this far, to keep expanding and to maintain its present shape the universe needs much more mass than we see (Parker 82). Furthermore, there are considerably more galaxies in certain quadrants of the universe than others. This is in direct opposition to the evenly distributed mass necessitated by the big bang theory (in Dark 87). There must be something we are not seeing that is responsible. The big bang alone doesnt explain these puzzling new discoveries. So, in light of the new data, a theory was developed to explain these finds. It is called the Cold Dark Matter Theory or CDM. When scientists name something, often it is a partial explanation of what they believe about its nature The name cold dark matter refers to two of its properties that are unusual. Cold indicates that it moves slowly relative to the speed of light thereby creating low heat. Page 1 of 5

English 1, Long Beach City College, Professor Allen Bundy, April 1991 By James R. Walker

Stephen P. Maran, a senior staff scientist in the laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics at NASAs Gaddard Space Flight Center, states that the velocity of particles in a gas is a measure of its temperature. Furthermore, Maran reports that because cold matter is nonluminous it is referred to as dark (34). Since it is non-luminous and relatively slow scientists can only speculate what they actually are Nonetheless) physicists have some ideas. CDM is composed of hypothetical subatomic particles given silly names such as, axions, photinos, gravitons, neutrinos and even higgsinos (Mann 34). Furthermore, its hypothesized that many of these particles are hidden in, (get ready for this one), MACHOS or Massive Compact Halo Objects These are bodies in space too small and cool to be a sun but too big and hot to be a planet (in Dark 87). Because these particles are cold and dark it is impossible for them to be directly measured, according to the Center for Particle Astrophysics at University of California Berkeley (in Dark 88). In addition to being impossible to measure directly, CDM interacts with other particles quite infrequently, according to the director of the Center for Particle Astrophysics, Bernard Sadoulet. In fact, Sadoulet reports in one square centimeter one million CDM particles pass per second, and still only one CDM particle interacts with another detectable particle per day (in Waldrop 168), Because of this, CDM particles are called, (and Im not making this up), WIMPS or weakly interacting Massive Particles (in Dark 87). So how do scientists know these oddly named things are out there when we cant see, hear, smell, taste or touch them and they dont even have the common courtesy to interact with other particles? They refer to Einsteins General Theory of Relativity which

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English 1, Long Beach City College, Professor Allen Bundy, April 1991 By James R. Walker

states that all mass regardless of size has gravitational pull. With this information scientists began to search for gravitational evidence of a matter unseen. This was applied, for example, to galaxies in which the spin was too fast in relation to their mass to hold together. Centrifugal force should tear them apart. Since they are not falling apart they must be heavier than they look, Some hidden mass must provide enough gravitational attraction to hold them together (10 Dark 87). This was verified by astronomer Vera Ruben, who carefully measured gravitational pull of a galaxy and compared that to the entire mass of that galaxy. Rubin found that in order to generate that much gravity there must be about 90% more mass (in Bartusiak 94). Additionally, newly discovered superclusters of galaxies in one quadrant of the universe could not have been created according to the original big bang theory. The big bang theory maintains that all matter in the universe must be evenly dispersed. However, the supercluster called The Great Attractor which is 1 billion light years long, 15 million light years deep and 20 million light years wide, makes the universe lopsided; in direct contrast to the big bang hypothesis. Here CDM could have created enough gravitational attraction to pull these galaxies together, independent of the physical laws dictating the big bangs influence on the universe (in Dark 87). There is another less practical reason for believing in dark matter, reports Barry R. Parker a professor of physics and astronomy at Idaho State University Theorists are much taken by a value called omega, a measure of the density of the universe. The shape of space is determined by its total mass, or density. Modern theories of the big bang predict that all space will expand forever and this causes the universe to be flat. By flat Parker is referring to something like a shallow rectangular box. If this were true the value of omega would equal one. So the astrophysics community took measurements and

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English 1, Long Beach City College, Professor Allen Bundy, April 1991 By James R. Walker

calculated the total density or the universe and they all agree it is about 0.01 to 0.02, far below the value predicted by the big bang theory. Therefore, they deduce, about 90% of the mass in the universe must be invisible or dark matter (Parker 82) The late 20th century, with all its advanced technology, has allowed the eyes, ears, hands and even the heart of humanity to reach far beyond our galaxy. In turn, the rate of incoming new data increases every year This has afforded us new knowledge of our universe and how it came to be as we now know it. High technology coupled with our curiosity has led us to discover that most of the matter that comprises the universe we cannot see. With this in mind astrophysicists, particle physicists, as well as astronomers have altered their approach methods when researching our wonderful universe. These enigmatic particles have increased the difficulty of the challenge of understanding everything in the heavens. In spite of their elusive behavior there can be no doubt that cold dark matter exists.

Works Cited

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English 1, Long Beach City College, Professor Allen Bundy, April 1991 By James R. Walker

Bartusick, Marcia. The Woman Who Spins the Stars. Discover 11:10 (1990): 88-94. The Dark Side of the Universe. Economist 315.7660 (1990): 87-88 Maran, Stephen P. Cold Matter is a Hot Topic. Natural History 97.5 (1988), 34-37. Parker, Barry R. Invisible Matter and the Fate of the Universe. New York: Plenum Press, (1989): 297. Waldrop, M, Mitchell. Pruning the Thickets of Cosmic Speculation Science 243.4888 (1989): 168- 169.

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