Expert: Tom Whiting - 5/13/2009

Question
Dear Tom Whiting,
I am fascinated by dark matter/energy and I was wondering what the problem is with scientists not knowing what it’s made up of, and what scientists will need to create to be able to detect it.
I hope you understand my question clearly if not I will give it another go.
Thank you,
Fantazia  

Answer
Hi Fantazia,
Well, all astronomers and cosmologists are just as fascinated as
you are, and just as much "in the dark" about it. (pun intended).
The problem is, in a nutshell, we've proved that it exists but have
no way to examine it because it gives off no light or other radiation; so how does one go about observing or testing it?
And that dark stuff constitutes some 96% of our Universe, the normal matter that you, I, and the Earth are made of is only 4%.

{Actually the terms dark energy and dark matter are just terms for
something that we have no idea what they are, so those are just
temporary terms we use to talk about it while knowing nothing about
it.)

It's kind of like those deep ocean probes that go down 6 miles to
the depths of the floor of the ocean, and then their search light quits working...so all you see is darkness.  You know there are other lifeforms present, but if you can't see them, you can't study them.  And if those lifeforms don't give off any light or energy of
their own, then you're pretty much out of luck in seeing them and
studying them.

So while we can do all the mathematics to prove the existence of
dark matter and dark energy, there is currently no known way to
study or examine...what it's really made of. If you have any idea
of how to do that, please come forward with your idea.

In the meantime, all of science is in the dark about it. I have no
idea what detection break-throughs in the future will allow us to
examine it.  As Mr. Spock once said on an old Startrek episode,
Even science cannot know the unknown.
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA USA