Strange matter and Dark matter

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This Page Originally Created by Krish and Robert (2020-21)

Dark matter is a form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe and strange matter is hypothesized to occur in the core of neutron stars, or, more speculatively, as isolated droplets that may vary in size from femtometers to kilometers. Both of these are very mysterious material that has yet to be researched more on.

Dark Matter[edit]

This shows the result of two numerical simulations predicting the distribution of dark matter around a galaxy similar to our Milky Way. You can find more information about it here.

Dark Matter is strange and we have not yet discovered what dark matter really is, however, we do know that dark matter is what holds galaxies together, and without dark matter, we would almost certainly not exist. Normal matter is similar to dark matter but there is just not enough normal matter to hold our galaxies together, this is where dark matter comes in.

Dark matter exists because light goes around dark matter, but perhaps what's even more strange is dark energy. Dark energy and dark matter are also responsible for the expansion of our universe, which is slowly stretching galaxies apart. There are always going to be expansions in the universe infinitely and as of right now there is no good solution for stopping this (may change in the future). It is possible that you can try to travel, but dark matter expands faster than the speed of light and there is no way any technology today can even attempt to achieve that. Someday technology will arise to combat this and perhaps drag in distant galaxies to form one very large galaxy, but we are far from doing that, however, theories and propositions are being made and you can see one here. For now, learning the effects of dark matter and dark energy is more important.

Statistics and implications[edit]

Dark energy makes up about 70% of the universe, dark matter makes up about 25% of the universe, and matter makes up about 5% of the universe according to astronomical observations and consensus. Dark matter also distorts the appearance of space, we know this because when scientists look up in space for distant galaxies through telescopes it often looks distorted and this is due to dark matter. Dark matter is also completely invisible because light bends around it, even after this property scientists have still found a way to map dark matter to where they think dark matter exists in the universe. Dark matter holds galaxies in place because of its gravitational force, and you can even see this if you look through a telescope or look at some images you'll notice how dark matter appears to be like spider webs meshed around the galaxy holding it in place. Dark matter is indeed dark and transparent which in turn means it is electrically neutral which means dark matter can't have charges. Dark matter particles also don't interact with other dark matter particles otherwise big clusters of dark matter would build up and contract.

Strange Matter[edit]

This is an image listing the different types of quarks.

Strange Matter could possibly be the most dangerous substance on the universe. It is often found in the core of a neutron star. A neutron star is the densest thing in existence other then black holes and a matter called strange matter is found in the centre. Scientists have given the name strange matter because it consists of strange quarks and those strange quarks are one of six quarks: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. The idea of strange matter came from scientists in the 1970s that wondered what would happen if protons and neutrons were squished super-humanly hard. It is said to be that it is the only type of quark that can stay stable and when they are grouped together, they form a “perfectly dense, stable, and … indestructible material” (Borja Tosar, 2020). The problem with this hypothesis being true is that strange quarks could be so stable that it can exist outside of a neutron star. This can lead to complications which have yet to be discovered. The core of a neutron star is very dense because of the pressure and immense gravity that is pressing on the core forming sheets or layers of incredibly dense tightly fused together atoms. Most of the materials on earth or anywhere has likely come from a neutron star collision and that's because when neutron stars collide, a bunch of heavy elements get burst out in a quick flash traveling across the universe.

The Strange Matter Hypothesis[edit]

One theory is that it could be infectious. Every matter it touches could turn into quark matter. Protons and neutrons would dissolve and join the rest of the strange material and then would release more energy and continue spreading. This hypothesis was developed by Bodmer and Witten, and was called the "strange matter hypothesis". If this were true, then the only possible way of disposing strange matter is by throwing it into a black hole.

Strangelets[edit]

The only way strange matter can get out and spread is if 2 neutron stars that contain a strange core were to collide and spew out a colossal number of strange droplets. These droplets are called strangelets. Strangelets could be as dense as a neutron star core and could range from subatomic to the maximum size of a rocket. These strangelets would zoom through space at high speed for millions of years until it encounters another star or planet. If the hypothesis of strange matter being infectious is true, then it would start converting the material it confronts into strange matter. In the event of a strangelet contacting a rock planet, all atoms and quarks would become strange quarks thereafter shrinking the planet into a clump of strange matter the size of an asteroid. If the same were to happen except with a star, the star would collapse into a strange star. One exception being is that the star would not lose any mass, but it would shrink and produce less heat and radiation. These strangelets could have formed very early after the Big Bang and it could answer many questions about how the universe was created.


Dark Matter vs Strange Matter (Properties)

Properties

Dark Matter

Strange Matter

With Light
Light bends around Dark Matter which makes dark
matter transparent but it can still be seen forming meshes
around galaxies due to light bending a shape around it

*
Strange energy interacts with light just like normal matter and it
behaves similarly to matter when light hits strange matter

*

With Matter
Dark Matter is what holds galaxies and matter into place,
so Dark Matter actually creates meshes around matter
and holds it in place

*
A theory known as the strange matter hypothesis suggests
that strange matter infects and spreads strange quarks to matter

*

With each other
Dark Matter likely works around strange matter similarly to how it
behaves with normal matter, Dark Matter is known to be the most
abundant matter in the universe and had their been any reaction to
it with strange matter seeing as it covers basically the entire universe,
the effects would be clear

*
Strange Matter as previously mentioned is hypothesized to infect matter
but strange matter can't infect dark matter because if it could we would
notice clear signs of it already but no traces of that have been found

*

With gravity
Dark Matter has gravity because of its mass so it does interact with
gravity to form meshes around matter holding it in place

*
Strange Matter interacts with gravity very fiercely and in fact is the
reason neutron stars form in the first place, because of the gravity
very heavy elements are made and forcefully fused at the core
of a neutron star, and in fact most of the elements we know
today here on earth came from neutron star collisions

*

Their Particles
Dark Matter is quite slow and cold and bends light to distort the look
of galaxies from afar, while we don't know exact particle properties, we
do know that dark matter particles are cold, transparent, have no
electrical charge (neutral), and have a good amount of mass

*
Strange matter is a large group of strange quarks all squished together.
A strangelet is a hypothetical particle consisting of a bound state of
roughly equal numbers of up, down, and strange quarks.

*


References[edit]

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