Currently, physicists only understand what just over four percent of the observable universe is made up of – the rest is considered dark matter. Dark matter was first conceptualised in 1977 by scientists who suggested the material is responsible for all of the unseen substance in space. The existence of dark matter would go towards explaining why galaxies rotate and why they stick together, rather than stars flying off in all directions.
However, evidence of this elusive substance has been few and far between, leaving experts scratching their heads.
But one scientist may have cracked the case, theorising that dark matter could actually be a dark fluid – a hypothetical ‘fluid’ which has a negative mass, making it invisible.
According to experts at Oxford University, this would mean that dark matter and dark energy are part of the same thing.
Dark energy, it was theorised, made up just over 68 percent of all energy in the universe and permeated through space.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
Experts believed that dark energy acted as a counter to gravity and was responsible for the universe’s ever accelerating expansion.
However, Dr James Farnes, who led the team at Oxford’s e-Research Centre, has other ideas.
Dr Farnes said in his research that dark energy and dark matter are part of the same substance and can ‘pop’ into existence.
This mysterious ‘dark fluid’ can then hold galaxies together, while also giving a gentle nudge to push galaxies apart and cause the universe to expand.
He said of the study published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics: “We now think that both dark matter and dark energy can be unified into a fluid which possesses a type of ‘negative gravity’.
“If real, it would suggest that the missing 95% of the cosmos had an aesthetic solution: we had forgotten to include a simple minus sign.”
Writing for The Conversation, Dr Farnes added: “The theory seems to provide answers to so many currently open questions that scientists will — quite rightly — be rather suspicious.
“However, it is often the out-of-the-box ideas that provide answers to longstanding problems.
“The strong accumulating evidence has now grown to the point that we must consider this unusual possibility.”