Observing Dark Matter And The Lifespan Of The Universe

The universe is huge. Billions of stars are scattered throughout, and each of those stars likely sports a number of planets. Belts of asteroids and long period comet fields are everywhere. Yet all of this that we can observe does not make up the total sum of the universe; there are gaps everywhere. We call those gaps 'Dark Matter' and 'Dark Energy', and according to a recent report by two US scientists, the very fact that we know this may have spelled the end of the Universe.

Quantum Mechanics and Space

Quantum mechanics is to astronomy what daydreaming is to any 'serious pursuit'. It is a way to escape what is currently possible with theory and speculation, but unlike daydreaming quantum mechanics sports its own rules and formulas, mathematical guidelines on how to dream. With quantum mechanics scientists can study and make guesses at the nature of something as large and complex as the universe in ways that would be impossible without. Using quantum mechanics professors Lawrence Krauss and James Dent have come to the conclusion that mankind has locked in the universe to an eventual demise.

Schrodinger's Cat and Quantum Mechanics

There is a mental experiment that many see as a paradox known as Schrodinger's Cat. In this puzzle the life or death of a cat tied to a complex situation is determined by observing the cat which, before the observation, is either alive or dead, or both. Confused? Welcome to Quantum Mechanics 101. The linchpin to this and similar ideas is the accepted theory that some subatomic particles exist in a superposition state, one where the relative position of the particle is in flux, and does not become fixed until observed.

Schrodinger's Universe

Taking this concept and applying it to the Universe gives us the possibility of a state of existence where certain properties are in flux, and which do not become fixed until observed. In 1998 scientists observed the light from a supernova and used this data to come up with an observation of Dark Energy (essentially energy not used by the Big Bang to create matter) and from there Dark Matter (the matter that we 'know' exists but can not observe). Krauss and Dent took a look at this observation and applied to it the idea of Schrodinger's Cat, and what they came up with has been plastered across many news sources as a depressing idea - that man has hastened the death of the universe.

Locking In to a Universe in Flux

Krauss and Dent are not implying, however, that man has caused the eventual death of the universe, but rather that by observing Dark Energy and Dark Matter man has fixed the position of a universe in flux, and that the position which the universe has been fixed in is one where it will eventually die. The eventual death of the universe is linked to Dark Energy because it is thought that the Dark Energy is fuelling the expansion of the universe, and it is thought by many that eventually the universe will expand to a stopping point and then decay. Like all areas involving quantum mechanics, this idea is likely to be heavily debated and analysed for some time to come.

Related Articles in the 'Our Solar System' Category...

• A Guide To The Outer Solar System
• How Planetary Surfaces Are Formed
• Orbits and How They Work
• Origins of the Solar System
• Planetary Atmospheres
• The Asteroid Belt
• The Discovery of our Dented Solar System
• The Dwarf Planets
• The Gas Giant Planets
• The Kuiper
• The Rocky Planets