Here we are, people–it’s finally time to talk about dark matter!
I’ve teased this subject in my last few posts. We’ve discussed how the idea originated–with observations of the rotation of galaxies. We’ve touched on the question of whether dark matter could explain supermassive black holes.
What we have yet to do is take a proper deep dive into what the heck this stuff actually is. But there’s an even more important question…
How do we know it’s actually real?
Continue reading
Q: What is gravity? (asked by Simon)
Wow…great question. This is a question the greatest scientific minds have asked and tried to answer for centuries. It’s a question not even Stephen Hawking, the scientific genius of the century, has fully answered.
There are a few parts to the gravity question, and they have each been addressed one by one over time:
Isaac Newton stood on the shoulders of the giants before him—Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Kepler—and figured out how gravity works. But he was at a loss to explain what exactly this mysterious force was.
Einstein built on Newton’s work and came up with a theory for what gravity is—that is, distortions in space-time.
We have yet to understand why gravity works. Why is space-time warped? Why do objects distort it as if it were the material of a trampoline? What exactly is the nature of space?
But, lucky for me, the question above specifically asks what gravity is. And that, I can explain.
The best way to do that is to turn one of gravity’s oldest tricks, one that has perplexed scientists and philosophers for thousands of years: What makes the planets move?
Continue reading
So, the moon stays in orbit around the Earth, right?
Yeah, I thought so. But why? The moon’s orbit is not a straight line, which means it’s accelerated motion (using the physics definition, which is absolutely any change in speed or direction).
And in order for acceleration to happen, according to Newton’s first law of motion, a force has to happen—meaning, something has to reach out, touch the moon, and drag it into orbit around Earth.
Well, that doesn’t happen, last I checked. I mean, it’s not like we have some kind of giant cord connecting us to the moon. How crazy would that be?
So why does the moon orbit the Earth?
Continue reading
It’s said that Sir Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree when an apple fell on his head, and that’s when all his discoveries began.
Personally, I doubt that story—just as I doubt that Galileo Galilei ever dropped iron and wooden balls off the Leaning Tower of Pisa. His goal would have been to show that both objects hit the ground at the same time. Unfortunately, wind resistance would have gotten in the way.
Regardless of how Newton discovered gravity, his scientific achievements are monumental. In fact, we recognize him today as one of the greatest scientists to ever live, second only to the famous Albert Einstein.
Newton’s revelation that gravity draws objects toward Earth changed the course of modern science. But what exactly did he find out?
Continue reading
Cosmos at Your Doorstep 