Mastodawn

Katie Mack Mar 3, 2023

‘The most common response I get when I talk about dark matter is: “isn’t this just something physicists made up to make the math work out?”
The answer to that might surprise you: yes! In fact, everything in physics is made up to make the math work out.’

My latest for BBC Science Focus:

https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/everything-physics-made-up/

Yes, everything in physics is completely made up – that’s the whole point

A physicist's task is to constantly create equations that keep up with our observations of physical phenomena.

BBC Science Focus Magazine

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Strange New Words (Adam)

@AstroKatie Ether was a theoretical substance that made the math work, but it didn’t really exist — we just didn’t understand light and electromagnetic waves yet. Similiarly, I think people feel that dark matter, a substance that by definition can’t be directly observed or detected but makes the math work great, is a little convenient. It feels like a concept that may be dropped when we learn more about the universe’s true nature (assuming we ever do).