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Dark Energy Tops List of 'Big Questions'
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 11:04 am ET
26 April 2002
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It's a big and complex universe out there, and even the smartest scientists know they can't solve all its puzzles on their own It's a big and complex universe out there, and even the smartest scientists know they can't solve all its puzzles on their own. So a new report produced by a group of leading cosmologists, astronomers and physicists calls for greater cooperation across disciplines and agencies in an effort to answer some remaining big questions of the cosmos. It also suggests which questions ought to top the list. Number One is the pursuit of so-called dark energy, a strange and repulsive force thought to pervade the universe. Scientists in recent years have found that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Present knowledge of matter and energy can't explain how or why galaxies continue to speed up as they race away from each other. Dark energy has been offered up as a possible explanation. But no one knows what it is or how it works. A new class of large, wide-field telescopes -- on the ground and in space -- would allow scientists to explore this mysterious force, says the new report, issued this week by the National Research Council of the National Academies, a nonprofit institution that provides science and technology advice under the direction of Congress. "Recent advances made by physicists in understanding matter, space, and time and by astronomers in understanding the universe as a whole have paved the way to answer the really big questions," said Michael Turner, chair of the report committee and a noted cosmologists at the University of Chicago. "To make further progress, we must develop a research agenda that focuses on physicists and astronomers doing collaborative projects rather than working separately." The report also recommends building a deep underground laboratory to hunt for signs of mysterious dark matter, an equally mysterious cousin of dark energy. Scientists know there is much more matter in the universe than they can account for. In fact, as much as 80 percent of matter may be in this invisible form dubbed dark matter. They figure they can learn more about it several thousand feet down, where most cosmic particles don't penetrate. Above the lab, Earth would serve as a sifting mechanism, allowing the study of only the most exotic particles. Another suggestion is to begin research on a robotic space mission to study ripples in the fabric of space-time that would improve understanding of the birth of the universe. The ripples are thought to be leftovers of the Big Bang and the rapid growth of the universe from a pinpoint to a big place full of galaxies. The report, written by 19 scientists, calls for cooperation by NASA, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation so resources can be better focused. These same three agencies funded the study. A full copy of the report is available here.
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