In the year 1900, renowned British physicist Lord Kelvin professed, "In physics, we have discovered all there is to discover. Only refinement in measurements remains." However, within a mere 30 years, quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of relativity fundamentally transformed the field of physics.
Fast forward to today, and no physicist would dare to assert that we've fully grasped the physical workings of the universe. In fact, every new discovery seems to open a floodgate of bigger, more profound questions. Here are some of the most crucial ones:
Unraveling the Mystery of Dark Energy:
The mathematics of the universe, no matter how you calculate it, doesn't quite make sense. Despite gravity bending the space-time continuum, the cosmic "fabric" keeps expanding at an accelerating rate. To account for this, astrophysicists propose an unseen agent that counteracts gravity by enlarging space-time, dubbed as 'dark energy'.
In the most accepted cosmological model, dark energy is an inherent attribute of space itself, exerting "negative pressure" and causing space to expand. As space grows, it creates more space and more dark energy. Although scientists know that dark energy constitutes over 70 percent of the universe's total content, its detection remains elusive, despite intensive research since 2015.
Decoding Dark Matter:
Dark matter, though unseen and undetected, is believed to exist due to its gravitational impact on visible matter, radiation, and the universe's structure. This substance possibly permeates the outskirts of galaxies and might be composed of "weakly interacting massive particles" or WIMPs. Despite global efforts to detect WIMPs, success eludes us. A recent study suggests that dark matter might form thin, long streams throughout the universe, possibly radiating from Earth like hair.
The Matter vs Antimatter Enigma:
The question of why matter outnumbers antimatter essentially questions our very existence. The universe is believed to treat matter and antimatter symmetrically, thus creating equal amounts of both during the Big Bang. If true, there should have been complete annihilation, leaving behind a sea of photons in an empty expanse. Yet, for unexplained reasons, there was surplus matter that survived, hence our existence. Current research provides no new insights into this mystery.
Predicting the Universe's Destiny:
The universe's fate heavily depends on an unknown factor: a measure of matter and energy's density across the cosmos. If this value is greater than 1, without dark energy, the universe would stop expanding and collapse into a "Big Crunch". If dark energy is confirmed, the universe would keep expanding eternally. If the value is less than 1, the universe would end in a "Big Freeze" and a "Big Rip". If the value is 1, without dark energy, the universe would continue expanding at an ever-slowing rate.
Astrophysicist Paul Sutter, in his 2015 essay, discusses the inevitable death of the universe. Regardless of the outcome, our universe is on a trajectory towards its end.
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