Dark Matter Search in Minnesota Announces Exciting Results
Scientists have announced the possible discovery of dark matter after a week of rumors After a titillating rumor last week seemed to be debunked, it looks as though physicists in Minnesota may have indeed discovered the weakly interacting particles (WIMPs) that constitute dark matter. Dark matter has been an invisible lurker up until now. But scientists believe that it makes up approximately 25 percent of the universe, based on its gravitational effects on the visible universe. Unrelated dark energy makes up nearly 70 percent of the universe, and the more familiar atomic matter represents just 4 percent. The mine's dark matter particles have revealed themselves as two tiny heat signatures in germanium and silicon that have cooled to a near absolute-zero temperature. Still, scientists caution that there's a 20 percent chance the heat signatures just represent background radioactivity in the underground cavern. If confirmed, the find could represent the first evidence of supersymmetry, or...