Expanding our understanding ofthe content of inter galactic space is certainly a good start when it comesdown to detecting missing mass. All suchspace could well be filled with material simply interacting weakly and notseriously agglomerating in any significant way.
We see the dynamic form of agalaxy and assume that it is representative, when it is certainly theexception. The existence of filamentscertainly confirms the existence of organized matter outside of the galaxies.
I personally favor low energyneutrinos for the so called dark matter, as it fits nicely into my ownwork. That puts a lot of materialoutside the Galaxies.
Aussie student finds universe's 'missing mass'
Fri, 27 May, 2011
A 22-year-old Australian university student has solved a problem whichhas puzzled astrophysicists for decades, discovering part of theso-called "missing mass" of the universe during her summerbreak.
Undergraduate Amelia Fraser-McKelvie made the breakthrough during aholiday internship with a team at Monash University 's School of Physics
Monash astrophysicist Dr Kevin Pimbblet explained that scientists hadpreviously detected matter that was present in the early history of theuniverse but that could not now be located.
"There is missing mass, ordinary mass not dark mass ... It'smissing to the present day," Pimbblet told AFP.
"We don't know where it went. Now we do know where it went becausethat's what Amelia found."
Fraser-McKelvie, an aerospace engineering and sciencestudent, was able to confirm after a targeted X-ray search for the mystery massthat it had moved to the "filaments of galaxies", which stretchacross enormous expanses of space.
Pimbblet's earlier work had suggested the filaments as a possiblelocation for the "missing" matter, thought to be low in density buthigh in temperature.
Pimbblet said astrophysicists had known about the "missing"mass for the past two decades, but the technology needed to pinpoint itslocation had only become available in recent years.
He said the discovery could drive the construction of newtelescopes designed to specifically study the mass.
Pimbblet admitted the discovery was primarily academic, but he saidprevious physics research had led to the development of diverse othertechnologies.
"Whenever I speak to people who have influence, politicians and soon, they sometimes ask me 'Why should I invest in physics pure research?'. AndI sometimes say to them: 'Do you use a mobile phone? Some of that technologycame about by black hole research'.
"The pure research has knock-on effects to the whole society whichare sometimes difficult to anticipate."
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