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Bizarre 'Dark Fluid' With Negative Mass Could Dominate the Universe (theconversation.com)

One of the most galling mysteries in physics is that of the dark matter and dark energy. Scientists believe that together, these could account for up to 95 percent of the total mass in the universe. Now, a researcher at the University of Oxford says a new theory could explain all that "dark phenomena." From a report: The two mysterious dark substances can only be inferred from gravitational effects. Dark matter may be an invisible material, but it exerts a gravitational force on surrounding matter that we can measure. Dark energy is a repulsive force that makes the universe expand at an accelerating rate. The two have always been treated as separate phenomena. But my new study, published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, suggests they may both be part of the same strange concept -- a single, unified "dark fluid" of negative masses.

Negative masses are a hypothetical form of matter that would have a type of negative gravity -- repelling all other material around them. Unlike familiar positive mass matter, if a negative mass was pushed, it would accelerate towards you rather than away from you. Negative masses are not a new idea in cosmology. Just like normal matter, negative mass particles would become more spread out as the universe expands -- meaning that their repulsive force would become weaker over time. However, studies have shown that the force driving the accelerating expansion of the universe is relentlessly constant. This inconsistency has previously led researchers to abandon this idea. If a dark fluid exists, it should not thin out over time.

In the new study, I propose a modification to Einstein's theory of general relativity to allow negative masses to not only exist, but to be created continuously. "Matter creation" was already included in an early alternative theory to the Big Bang, known as the Steady State model. The main assumption was that (positive mass) matter was continuously created to replenish material as the universe expands. We now know from observational evidence that this is incorrect. However, that doesn't mean that negative mass matter can't be continuously created. I show that this assumed dark fluid is never spread too thinly. Instead it behaves exactly like dark energy.

8 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. Grasping at Straws by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is it just me or has the physics community been grasping at straws lately?

    1. Re:Grasping at Straws by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You mean grasping at Strings

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re:Grasping at Straws by bobbied · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Yes. I majored in physics, and I find this theory utterly repulsive.

      Yes, I see what you did there... Very good... I just wish I had mod points today.

      +1 Funny

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    3. Re:Grasping at Straws by loonycyborg · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Entire gravity is one big phenomenon that we can't explain. Negative mass fluid sounds like the same as Luminiferous Aether, something we made up on analogy with our lower level phenomena. Occam's razor suggests that it's better to expect an explanation for metric expansion of space in future improved versions of existing theories. Perhaps quantization of gravity will help?

  2. Nope by krray · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Just NOPE. Dark fluid ... being magically replenished ... wrong answer to a rather complex question.

    They need to explore / understand the fabric of space *itself*. It is stretchable. It can contract. It is also, itself, simply coming apart. If you try to measure this "coming apart" the problem (that I have) is that the measuring instrument itself is coming apart (expanding).

    One day the cohesion of space itself will come to a breaking point (the end).

  3. Speaking of dark matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Am I alone in Iâ(TM)m getting tired of looking at comments because I donâ(TM)t want to sift through pages of creamer/apk/nazi/racist posts.

    It wouldnâ(TM)t be so bad if these were original. Today it really looks like a few bits running and spamming every post.

    I miss hot grits, Natalie Portman, Beowulf clusters of thingiemabobs and even the goatse man himself. Well, I donâ(TM)t miss him that much.

    How did we go from meme to vile?

  4. Physicists believe in negative mass.... by little1973 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    because math allows it. But not everything is real what math allows. Just look at the epic failure of SUSY or read "Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray" from theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder.

    "However, studies have shown that the force driving the accelerating expansion of the universe is relentlessly constant."

    And there are several studies which claim that the accelerating expansion of the Universe is an illusion. I think it would be simpler(?) to explain the galactic rotation problem and/or the Bullet Cluster without dark matter with a model. And if that model also says something about the expansion of the Universe which matches the observations that would be an extra. But no model should be built upon solely on the accelerating expansion of the Universe.

    "It therefore appears that a simple minus sign may solve one of the longest standing problems in physics."

    I have read a study which claimed that the bending of light around a galaxy was consistent with the velocity of the stars around the galaxy. That means space-time is really curved with the right amount since there cannot be any repulsive force which bends light.

    A precise extragalactic test of General Relativity
    http://science.sciencemag.org/...

    --
    Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer. - Ludwig von Mises
  5. I'm tired of your apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    I'm tired of you apple asshats who won't fix your goddamned keyboard!