Argument against Dark Matter - please enjoy yourself for a moment

[lenfromkits]

Hi. I just had to share this little gem. Regardless of your points of view on Dark Matter versus other ideas (ie MOND in this case), this webpage is so well done and funny if you're a geek like me.

(a conversation between Arnold Schwarzenegger and a physicist)...
http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/ArnoldMOND/ahnoldmond.html

 

[Chronos]

Amusing. I think of dark matter by pretending I'm a a caveman trying to understand a permanent magnet. I see that an iron nugget suspended by a plant fiber is pulled in the direction of the magnet, but, cannot see any fiber connecting them.

 

[lenfromkits]

Amusing. I think of dark matter by pretending I'm a a caveman trying to understand a permanent magnet. I see that an iron nugget suspended by a plant fiber is pulled in the direction of the magnet, but, cannot see any fiber connecting them.

Interesting. Well. Considering we still do not truly know how two particles can affect each other at a distance, we're still stuck on the magnet puzzle! We're probably just better at using string instead of plant fiber.
:)

(ie, "action at a distance" isn't solved, although some theorize about virtual photons)

 

[Parlyne]

Interesting. Well. Considering we still do not truly know how two particles can affect each other at a distance, we're still stuck on the magnet puzzle! We're probably just better at using string instead of plant fiber.
:)

(ie, "action at a distance" isn't solved, although some theorize about virtual photons)

And, those "some" find their predictions matching experimental results to as many as 11 significant figures. (And, more generally, to as many significant figures as both the predictions and experiments can be trusted to, given uncertainty bounds.)

The protestations of Insane Clown Posse not withstanding, we really do understand magnets. Virtual photons are just one particular way of expressing that 4-momentum is transferred from one object to the other via electromagnetic fields with certain dynamical properties.

 

[pmacias]

I appreciate the humor in this conversation between Arnold Schwarzenegger and a physicist. However, while it may be entertaining, it is important to base scientific beliefs on evidence and research rather than just personal opinions or jokes. The existence of dark matter has been supported by numerous observations and experiments, and while other theories such as MOND may offer alternative explanations, they have not yet been able to fully explain all of the observed phenomena. As scientists, it is our responsibility to continue to gather data and conduct research in order to better understand the universe, rather than dismissing ideas based on humor or personal beliefs.