The unknown ingredient that holds the universe together

After the Big Bang, the universe expanded and developed forms that fascinate the general public and astrophysicists alike. The latter have discovered a great deal about the cosmos and our world. But one mystery remains: how does it all fit together? How is it that all galaxies have virtually the same shape? Especially since some of the rules don't seem to hold up so well.

According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, the further away an object is from the force of gravity, the slower it travels. This explains why Neptune takes 165 Earth years to complete one revolution around the Sun. And yet, when observing distant galaxies, we notice that the outermost stars orbit faster than expected. Could it be that Newton's laws of motion work differently there? Some say so, but most scientists refute the idea, turning instead to dark matter.

This matter, which is thought to be everywhere in the universe, is totally invisible to the naked eye and to all existing equipment. For the time being, it's a phantom substance that has yet to be observed. Nevertheless, many researchers are busy trying to prove it. Some are developing ultra-realistic simulations of the formation of the Universe, attempting to perceive it. Others are analyzing the possibility of seeing the interaction of dark matter on neutrinos or other tiny elements, which they are trying to recreate by collision. So far, none of these approaches has yielded any results, but each overturned hypothesis is seen as good news by the scientific community, which sees it as another step towards the discovery of this universal "glue".

Running time: 30 minutes

Image: Peter Schmidt from Pixabay