Space: Elusive Dark Matter May Be Hidden on Earth
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:10 pm
Elusive Dark Matter May Be Hidden on Earth
Space.com - 2010 Feb 25
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1186112 (2010 Feb 11)
Space.com - 2010 Feb 25
Science Daily: Cryogenic Dark Matter Search: 2010 Feb 20Scientists are hot on the tail of one of nature's most elusive substances, the mysterious dark matter that is thought to make up the bulk of the universe. Many scientists think dark matter might even be hiding right under our noses here on Earth.
Dark matter is especially tricky to find because of its dark nature. In fact, scientists don't know what it is. It doesn't emit or reflect any light, so the most powerful telescopes have no hope of spying it directly. It has been thought to exist since the 1970s based on observations of gravity's effects on large-scales, such as among and between galaxies – regular matter can't account for the amount of gravity at work.
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The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) is buried in a mine in Minnesota underneath about 766 yards (700 meters) of rock, plastic, lead, copper and other materials designed to stop everything but dark matter from reaching the experiment — thus cosmic rays and other particles that might be confused for dark matter particles will mostly be eliminated.
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1186112 (2010 Feb 11)