Saturday, June 02, 2012

Detecting dark matter

Scientists are still trying to discover the origins of the universe. The latest attempt will be soon in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The old Homestake Gold Mine has been turned into a lab to do experiments in dark matter. They will be using a dark matter detector. Why? "Regular matter—people and planets, for example—make up about 4 percent of the total mass-energy of the universe. Scientists estimate that dark matter makes up about 25 percent." If they can detect the dark matter, "it could explain why the universe isn't made up equally of matter and antimatter. That, in turn, could explain how the world as we know it came to be."

"Dark matter is too sensitive to detect in normal laboratories, but one so far underground would help shield it from pesky cosmic radiation. Also, the LUX detector is submerged in water, further insulating it."

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