What is the universe made of?
It’s a fundamental question that has been asked numerous times over the years, and Katherine Freese is devoting her scientific career to answering it.
Freese is the George E. Uhlenbeck Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan. Her book is called “The Cosmic Cocktail: Three Parts Dark Matter.”
Freese the answer is surprising ,and finding it begins by starting with what we do know.
“Your body, the air, the walls, let’s even throw in the stars and planets. All of that is made of atoms, but all of that only adds up to about 5% of the universe,” Freese said.
Freese said the quest to find the answer dates back to a Swiss astronomer in the 1930s who found something was pulling at the universe, causing it to expand. He called it dark matter.
So what does dark matter mean?
“It means that it does not shine,” Freese said. “It is invisible to our eyes and our ordinary telescopes."
Freese said scientists believe they are close to detecting it, and believe it is made of some new particle – entirely different from neutrons, protons, and everything we have learned in science class.
Freese said her book served two purposes: to talk about the hunt for dark matter, and to talk about her experience as a scientist.
*Listen to the full interview with Katherine Freese above.
–Bre'Anna Tinsley, Michigan Radio Newsroom
