Some new, unknown sort of matter seems to make up 23% of the universe. This so-called dark matter is observed solely through its gravitational effects, visible for instance in the way stars orbit the centers of galaxies.
If it is known solely through its gravitation effects, why do we assume it is matter at all? Could it not simply be a force or a presence?
Dear Frank,
ReplyDeleteForce requires mass (F = ma), presence, Real or otherwise, may not.
shalom,
Steven
I was thinking that "dark matter" is a materialistic definition made by materialists, but....
ReplyDeleteI haven't the faintest idea myself. Which is why I put the question. According to Wikipedia, "dark matter accounts for 23% of the mass-energy density of the observable universe. In comparison, ordinary matter accounts for only 4.6% of the mass-energy density of the observable universe, with the remainder being attributable to dark energy. From these figures, dark matter constitutes 80% of the matter in the universe, while ordinary matter makes up only 20%." But "the largest part of dark matter which does not interact with electromagnetic radiation, is not only 'dark' but also, by definition, utterly transparent." Why does something that accounts for "mass" have to be "matter"? Especially if it's transparent? Again, I don't know. I'm just asking.
ReplyDelete