Has dark matter finally been detected? | The Guardian
So, has the time come? Have we discovered dark matter? This article from the Guardian seems to relate to such an idea. If this is true, it will surely be a breakthrough which will start a series of discoveries in the Scientific community.
For 80 years, it has eluded the finest minds in science. But tonight it appeared that the hunt may be over for dark matter, the mysterious and invisible substance that accounts for three-quarters of the matter in the universe.
In a series of coordinated announcements at several US laboratories, researchers said they believed they had captured dark matter in a defunct iron ore mine half a mile underground. The claim, if confirmed next year, will rank as one the most spectacular discoveries in physics in the past century.
Tantalising glimpses of dark matter particles were picked up by highly sensitive detectors at the bottom of the Soudan mine in Minnesota, the scientists said.
Dan Bauer, head of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search CDMS, said the group had spotted two particles with all the expected characteristics of dark matter. There is a one in four chance that the result is due to some other effect in the underground detectors, Bauer told a seminar at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, near Chicago.
Rumours that Bauers group was on the verge of making an announcement surfaced on physicists blogs a few weeks ago. Though tentative, tonights results triggered an immediate wave of excitement in the science community.
“If they have a real signal, its a seriously big deal. The scale on which people are looking for dark matter is vast,”
via Has dark matter finally been detected? | Science | The Guardian.
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