Dark Matter and Related FAQs

Questions about dark matter, dark energy and related issues:

• If there is so much missing mass, why is the expansion of universe still accelerating?
• What is dark energy and what does it have to do with the universe?
• Does dark matter imply dark light?
• Could dark matter be anti-matter?
• Mass density, MACHOS and galactic rotation...
• WIMPs vs. MACHOs
• What is the theory of Dark Matter?
• Can we know baryonic content of DM?
• Does the sea of virtual particles contribute to the Dark Matter?
• Is Dark Energy related to the Casimir effect?
• What are some ways to detect dark matter?
• WIMP thermal velocities, interaction properties...
• How can WIMPs interact with nuclei if they have no charge -- (particles and fields)
• Explain the story of dark matter in a nutshell
• Could dark matter be hidden within other dimensions?
• Can dark matter radiate light like ordinary matter?
• Since dark matter is a cousin particle to our normal periodic table,
  does that mean that there are dark people too?
• What is the pioneer anomaly, and does it substantiate the theory of dark matter?
• Is this dark matter located near the center of our galaxy, and what causes it?
• Is there such a thing as anti-dark matter?

Questions about particle physics, cosmology and other things:

• Where is the closest black hole to Earth?
• Are particles made of sound waves?
• Why does a star collapse near the end of its life and not during its life, even though the mass is relatively constant?
• Do black holes at the center of galaxies determine galactic structure?
• If black holes suck in everything around them, how do we detect those x-ray signals from them?
• What is the universe expanding into?
• Is there an "edge of the universe"?
• Is there an anti-universe? Anti-stars? Other dimensions?
• What is on the other side of a black hole, a white hole?
• What is the earliest redshift interval at which galaxies and quasars are currently known to exist?
• To influence time (example 1%) how big has to be the mass of a black hole? 60 real minutes must become under influence 59 Minutes? Is this possible?

Last revised: August 29, 2005
Elizabeth Arscott