Dark matter and dark energy: the 95% of the universe we can't see

Dark matter and dark energy: the 95% of the universe we can't see

How astronomers discovered that everything we can observe is a tiny fraction of what's out there, the evidence for the invisible majority, and why its true nature remains one of physics' deepest open problems.

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Show notes

Fritz Zwicky discovered that galaxies in the Coma Cluster moved faster than visible gravity should allow.

Vera Rubin proved that outer stars orbit spiral galaxies as fast as inner stars, suggesting invisible halos.

The Bullet Cluster collision shows dark matter passing through obstacles like a ghost through a wall.

Visible matter accounts for less than five percent of the total composition of the universe.

Supernovae observations in nineteen ninety-eight revealed that the expansion of the universe is actually accelerating.

Dark energy acts as a repulsive pressure inherent to space, making up sixty-eight percent of the cosmos.

In this episode
  1. 01Intro1 min
  2. 02The Swiss Anomaly and the German Name2 min
  3. 03Vera Rubin and the Spinning Spirals2 min
  4. 04The Bullet Cluster and Gravitational Lensing2 min
  5. 05The 1998 Shock: Dark Energy3 min
  6. 06Outro1 min
Sources
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