Ah! The ever-elusive dark matter! We are told that the universe is mostly dark matter and yet we have never seen it. What we mostly have observed is the celestial objects interacting with something that is believed to be dark matter.
Now, a new study published in the APS Physics journal is introducing the theory that dark matter may be able to make more of itself and it's a terrifying idea.
The theory is quite plausible. After all, there seems to be way too much of the stuff out in the universe.
The scientists use some complicated math but they basically argue that dark matter can essentially turn regular matter into more of its kind. Does that mean that we are all doomed to become dark matter?
Not necessarily, the physicists also argue that dark matter went on a big growing spree at the beginning of the universe but has since stopped. Phew! What a relief!
How did it stop growing? According to the scientists, dark matter can’t convert regular matter if the cosmos is stretching away from it. So what essentially saved our precious little cosmos is the expansion of our universe.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions on the theory, as is expected on any theory regarding anything as elusive as dark matter. But the idea seems to fit in well with observations of dark matter we have today via the cosmic microwave background (CMB).
CMB refers to the faint (but clearly existent) cosmic background radiation filling all of space. It is also a crucial source of data on the early universe because it is the oldest electromagnetic radiation, dating all the way back to the epoch of recombination.
Well, there you have it, folks! There's a strong possibility that the universe may one day be entirely transformed into dark matter. Are you scared yet?