From Steve Wilson
It was intriguing to read that experiments suggest dark matter may not be present in our part of the galaxy (28 April, p 6), whereas the majority opinion is that it should be.
More intriguing for those of us with a sceptical nature was the statement by Rory Smith of the University of ConcepciÓn in Chile that dark matter is still needed because “it explains an enormous number of things famously well”.
This begs the question of whether something we can’t detect even when it should be detectable is an explanation at all. It seems more like proponents of the standard model of particle physics have chosen to give a big problem a trendy name in order to brush it aside.
That there is 83 per cent less detectable matter in the universe than the standard model demands cannot be explained away as a minor irritant called “dark matter” any more than losing both arms and legs to an opposing swordsman could be considered to be “only a flesh wound”.
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