What is weird science, when science gets weird?

[TerraHertz]

http://investmentwatchblog.com/scientists-admit-everything-they-know-about-physics-is-likely-wrong/
Scientists Admit Everything They Know About Physics Is Likely Wrong

OK, OK, I know it's sensationalized. Some of the links included:
   https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/two-most-dangerous-numbers-universe-194557366.html
   https://www.ted.com/talks/harry_cliff_have_we_reached_the_end_of_physics#t-705970

Then there's text mangling by non-science web writers. Such as this beauty from the 1st article:
“Dark energy should be 10120 times stronger than the value we observe from astronomy,” Cliff said. “This is a number so mind-bogglingly huge that it’s impossible to get your head around … this number is bigger than any number in astronomy — it’s a thousand-trillion-trillion-trillion times bigger than the number of atoms in the universe. That’s a pretty bad prediction.”

The missing "^", where did it go?

Anyway, pass the popcorn. I'm waiting to see if *anyone* in mainstream physics ever says the phrase 'scalar waves'. Also still waiting for any experimental finding of gravity waves, dark matter particles, WIMPs, etc. And a workable explanation for observed variations in isotopic decay rates.

[tom66]

Dark matter is a "fudge" explanation to explain why galaxies and other objects appear to behave unexpectedly, primarily with respect to gravity. It works -- but it requires massive assumptions and is very hard to detect any evidence of.  Personally I would bet on there being a simpler explanation, such as gravity not scaling the same at massive sizes, or some kind of relativistic effects.  However, I am not a physicist.

[Brumby]

My opinion: Dark Matter is just a label - but it allows a particular 'thing' to be compartmentalised.  This black box, as it were, can then be referenced in other discussion to allow those other discussions to proceed.

Finding out exactly what is inside the black box is a challenge in itself and that discovery will be an interesting one.

[TerraHertz]

It's not just 'dark matter' - there's also (hypothesized to be) 'dark energy' too. An entirely separate thing. Google it.
Meanwhile, still no explanation for observed quantization of interstellar red shifts.

[Halcyon]

A cheesy TV series from the 1990's...

[Tinkerer]

Yea, the dark matter/energy thing is really just a place holder until its better understood why things are behaving the way they do.
One of the more promising things I have heard of is that someone gave gravity an extra variable or constant or something that acts at larger distances rather than smaller ones and this actually worked out mathmatically in being able to solve for a couple of the problems. I dont know much beyond that though.

[Psi]

Dark matter doesn't really interest me. I mean sure, its a mystery and would be cool to figure out what is happening. But it doesn't have a lot of real world benefits if we figured it out tomorrow.

I'm much more interested in the mystery of the EMdrive/Cannae Drive
It seems to violate the conservation of momentum but does in fact work and produce thrust.

[Brumby]

Dark matter doesn't really interest me. I mean sure, its a mystery and would be cool to figure out what is happening. But it doesn't have a lot of real world benefits if we figured it out tomorrow.

That is a bold statement.

How can you say that something doesn't have a lot of real world benefits - when you have no idea of what it is or of the technology created to examine it?

[MT]

Dark Matter are Lucifers farts!

[Brumby]

... then what's Dark Energy?


When someone lights a match near the Dark Matter?

[Zero999]

Dark matter/energy might not exist but gravity waves must exist, even if they've not been detected yet.

[cobbler]

...things always get weird when Art Bell starts transmitting...

[Psi]

Dark matter doesn't really interest me. I mean sure, its a mystery and would be cool to figure out what is happening. But it doesn't have a lot of real world benefits if we figured it out tomorrow.

That is a bold statement.

How can you say that something doesn't have a lot of real world benefits - when you have no idea of what it is or of the technology created to examine it?

Because knowing what it is and being able to use the substance/effect/knowledge for something practical are completely different things.
Where as the EMdrive is already a practical 'thing' with lots of immediate applications. Just have to figure out why it works so we can increase the efficiency and scale up the power levels.

Perhaps i should reword my original statement..
"It's a mystery and would be cool to figure out what is happening. But it doesn't have a lot of *immediate* real world benefits if we figured it out tomorrow."

[dannyf]

Because knowing what it is

It may not exist at all. It could be that the reason we needed dark matter / energy to plug the existing theories is that the existing theories are wrong. In a better / more refined new theory, those plugs are no longer needed.

[Psi]

Agreed.

[TerraHertz]

Modern version of tilting at windmills:

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/01/23/saturday-silliness-wind-turbine-photo-of-the-year/

I thought snow was supposed to be a thing of the past? That's another whole bag of science that got weird.