- MIT’s time-traveling dark matter detector could, in principle, allow us to directly observe the effects of relativity and test whether it truly is the correct theory of gravity.
- We finally have a way to detect dark matter and test Einstein’s theories in a real-world setting.
- Soon the accuracy of the atomic clock can help us understand the dark mysteries of the universe.
The more beautiful our nature looks the harder it becomes to understand it. Nature is full of mysteries and interesting facts pushing scientists to stay up all night and work hard. From simple Newton’s laws to the great efforts of Einstein in his relativity theory, we have come a long way in understanding our surroundings. But still, nature never fails to surprise us.
In an ever-changing world, it’s important to be able to adapt. The scientific method is one way that we can constantly update our understanding of the world around us. It’s based on experimentation, observation, and the ability to test hypotheses. But in order to really understand the world, we need to be able to interact with other ideas and theories. This is where physics comes in.
Physics is the study of the fundamental principles of the universe. It’s constantly developing, as we learn more and more about the world around us. And while we may not always agree on particular grounds, the beauty of physics is that it allows us to explain the world in a way that makes sense.
Nobel prize winner, Albert Einstein, and his contribution to an ever-moving Physics world are unforgettable. His theories of relativity have been a foundation of physics for over a century. But despite their success in explaining a wide range of phenomena, they still don’t connect well with our current understanding of quantum mechanics.
Now, however, MIT physicists may have found a way to close the gap. Their time-traveling dark matter detector could, in principle, allow us to directly observe the effects of relativity and test whether it truly is the correct theory of gravity. If it turns out that relativity is not the correct theory, that would be a major breakthrough in our understanding of the universe. But even if relativity holds up to explore, this experiment would still be a remarkable feat of human imagination.
So far, the results of the experiment are still theoretical. But if they can be changed, we may finally have a way to test Einstein’s theories in a real-world setting. In another way, it’s an exciting time for physics.
The team of MIT scientists is trying to understand and measure one of these hidden mysteries of our mother nature. It’s strange that these things are all around us and consist of about 85% of the mass of this universe but still, it is giving tiring nights to scientists. The first observational hint of this problem was reported in 1922 while measuring the velocities of the stars in a galaxy. The observation suggested that the galaxy should contain more matter to rotate this fast as seen through our eyes.
A large mass of the galaxy was missing! This source of mass in the galaxy was named ‘Dark Matter’ simply because no one was able to see this matter. The reason why this matter is so hard to find is that it does not interact with any force except gravity, making it really hard for scientists to get a real solution to this problem.
The MIT scientists are a step forward in measuring the dark matter in our universe. The tool they have is one of the best and hard-to-understand theories in all of physics, called ‘Quantum Mechanics’. Using the quantum mechanical theory of ‘entanglement’ and ‘quantum time reversal’, the researchers have given hope to the world that this time we can come even closer to solving this puzzle of dark matter.
The basic physics or idea of this project is Einsteins’ General Theory of Relativity that time slows down near the region where we have larger mass or gravity. In simple terms the larger the mass, the slower will be the time in that region. But, measuring time precisely is a big problem itself. To measure time with such precision scientists now use ‘atomic clocks’. These clocks again use the theory of quantum mechanics to measure time. They estimate the frequency of vibration of an atom that is supposed to be vibrating at a constant rate.
The main aim of MIT scientists is to improve the accuracy of the atomic clock even more. Using these quantum mechanical tools they are planning to improve the clocks’ accuracy by a factor of 15. With such highly accurate clocks, we can detect even a slight effect of gravity produced by dark matter or gravitational waves. We are yet to see unbelievable discoveries coming in the near future.
