21 Feb 2020

Dark Energy is not the Fifth Force, Proved by an Experiment at Imperial College London - Science News

Dark energy theory proved wrong by the scientists at imperial College London. As we know that there are only four known forces that exist in nature, these 4 forces are-

1.Gravitational force 
2.Electromagnetic force
3.Strong and 
4.Weak Nuclear force 

What is Dark Energy (Is it the Fifth Force)?
But according to some physicists, one more type of force is also there, which is the 'dark energy' that acts on the matter. Therefore it has been considered as the fifth force.
Actually dark energy is an unknown force that is responsible for the expansion of the universe at accelerating rate.


Dark Energy Video

 

But in a recent experiment conducted by the researchers at imperial college London and University of Nottingham, no evidences were found of this fifth force.
Actually before this experiment, it was thought that, in Mostly Matter free space, the repulsive forces because of the dark energy are more significant than the attractive forces of gravity.
Gravity is responsible for binding everything together in the universe. In a place having lots of matter, the attractive forces of gravity are much greater in comparison to the repulsive forces of dark energy.
But this simple experiment conducted by the scientists have raised questions on the repulsive force of dark energy.
Professor ED Copeland, from the Center for Astronomy & Particle Physics at the University of Nottingham, said: "This experiment, connecting atomic physics and cosmology, has allowed us to rule out a wide class of models that have been proposed to explain the nature of dark energy, and will enable us to constrain many more dark energy models.''
Now let's see how the experiment was conducted and what were its results !!!


Experiment to Prove - Dark Energy is not the Fifth Force 

A metallic sphere of the size of a marble was placed in a vacuum chamber and then atoms were allowed to free-fall inside the chamber. It was observed that there was no change in the path of atoms. But according to the theory, the path of the atoms should have deviated slightly if there is a fifth force acting between the marble and atom.
This was a test with a very large weight compared to an incredibly small weight of a single atom. So In this experiment the fifth force should have been observed if it exists.
But after observing no deviation in the path of atoms, scientists concluded that there is no force acting between the marble and atom that can be called as the fifth force.
Professor ED Hinds, from the Department of Physics at Imperial college, said: “It is very exciting to be able to discover something about the evolution of the universe using a table-top experiment in a London basement.”
So friends, this simple experiment conducted at Imperial college London has compelled the physicists to think again on the repulsive force of Dark Energy.

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