From the Author:
How do you map the universe?
Explorers once understood Earth by mapping what they saw. If I only included visible objects in my map of the universe, it would show a mere four percent of the cosmos. Equipped with Einstein’s theory of general relativity, I use gravity to see how invisible “dark matter” bends light from stars and galaxies. This provides a remarkably detailed picture of the structure of the universe.
Is dark matter real?
Scientists know a lot about how dark matter is distributed in the universe and the critical role it plays in the formation of galaxies. Dark matter is mysterious because it lacks much personality—it interacts very weakly with ordinary matter (like you), it moves sluggishly, and it accumulates in lumps. You are right to be skeptical—the history of science is replete with abandoned invisible explanations (ether, miasma, and phlogiston)—but there is much evidence that dark matter is real.
Could a figure like Einstein exist today?
No and yes. Many fields are so specialized that it is hard to imagine one person making an Einsteinian impact. That said, the Internet makes it much easier for an outsider to garner the attention of the scientific establishment. Of course she would still need transformative, innovative, and radical ideas.
Where will we find the next radical scientific ideas?
We now have copious data in cosmology, neuroscience, genetics, and material science. Finding and comprehending meaningful patterns in that data will allow us to mine for fundamental principles and new frontiers for exploration. This is how I think we are going to find the next radical idea that could upend everything!
About the Author:
Priyamvada Natarajan is professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University and holds the Sophie and Tycho Brahe Professorship at the Dark Center, Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. Her research on dark matter, dark energy, and black holes has won her many awards and honors, including Guggenheim and Radcliffe Fellowships. Invested in public dissemination of science and numerical literacy, she is a member of the advisory board of NOVA ScienceNow, participates regularly in the World Science Festival, and writes for the New York Review of Books.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.