Phys 1160 Essay
What is the evidence for the existence of dark matter in galaxies and in the Universe?
Since early 1930s physicists attempted to understand and solve the “missing mass problem” in the galaxy and universe. This missing mass problem has spurred on astronomers and particle physicists on a quest to gain greater understanding of the universe. One of the key postulations to solve this missing mass problem is dark matter. Scientist has continually conducted experiments attempting to provide evidence for the existence of dark matter in the galaxies and in the universe.
In order to solve the irregularities involved in the missing mass problem, astronomers and physicist must decide whether to contest the current laws of science or accept that these irregularities are indication of the undiscovered. The “missing mass problem” requires astronomers and particle physicists to either contest Einstein’s Laws of Gravitation or to search for the unknown. Scientist put forward the concept that the unknown or unseen actually refers to “dark matter”, which accounts for the missing mass problem. One key problem however in explaining dark matter is that it is unexplained by Laws of Gravitation and the framework of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. This is a significant issue which challenges physicist in their quest to solve the problem of missing mass.
One of the first key observations was conducted by Fritz Zwicky in 1933. Fritz Zwicky noticed a discrepancy when measuring the brightness of distant clusters of galaxies, and used this to study their motion. Fritz Zwicky found inconsistency between the sum of the masses of the individual galaxies and the cluster mass required to hold the galaxies together. This observation showed that the cluster mass was greater than the estimated mass by Zwicky and this created the issue known today as the “missing mass problem.”
In a similar observation in 1936, Sinclair Smith calculated the Virgo cluster’s dynamic mass and
Since early 1930s physicists attempted to understand and solve the “missing mass problem” in the galaxy and universe. This missing mass problem has spurred on astronomers and particle physicists on a quest to gain greater understanding of the universe. One of the key postulations to solve this missing mass problem is dark matter. Scientist has continually conducted experiments attempting to provide evidence for the existence of dark matter in the galaxies and in the universe.
In order to solve the irregularities involved in the missing mass problem, astronomers and physicist must decide whether to contest the current laws of science or accept that these irregularities are indication of the undiscovered. The “missing mass problem” requires astronomers and particle physicists to either contest Einstein’s Laws of Gravitation or to search for the unknown. Scientist put forward the concept that the unknown or unseen actually refers to “dark matter”, which accounts for the missing mass problem. One key problem however in explaining dark matter is that it is unexplained by Laws of Gravitation and the framework of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. This is a significant issue which challenges physicist in their quest to solve the problem of missing mass.
One of the first key observations was conducted by Fritz Zwicky in 1933. Fritz Zwicky noticed a discrepancy when measuring the brightness of distant clusters of galaxies, and used this to study their motion. Fritz Zwicky found inconsistency between the sum of the masses of the individual galaxies and the cluster mass required to hold the galaxies together. This observation showed that the cluster mass was greater than the estimated mass by Zwicky and this created the issue known today as the “missing mass problem.”
In a similar observation in 1936, Sinclair Smith calculated the Virgo cluster’s dynamic mass and