Dark Matter? Not in Space but in a Mine???

[emperor_of_localgroup]

I'm not sure if anyone has already posted this news item here. If it's an old news, let this thread die.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/ ... r-detected

Here is a part of the news story.
In a series of coordinated announcements at several US laboratories, researchers said they believed they had captured dark matter in a defunct iron ore mine half a mile underground. The claim, if confirmed next year, will rank as one the most spectacular discoveries in physics in the past century.

Tantalising glimpses of dark matter particles were picked up by highly sensitive detectors at the bottom of the Soudan mine in Minnesota, the scientists said.

Dan Bauer, head of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS), said the group had spotted two particles with all the expected characteristics of dark matter. There is a one in four chance that the result is due to some other effect in the underground detectors, Bauer told a seminar at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, near Chicago.

I thought they all were staring at the sky to find dark matter.

 

[Captain_Salty]

They've had detectors underground for many years (80's?). I believe if it exists then it exitsts everywhere. the deeper you go the less interference you should get.

 

[nimbus]

Dark matter's "dark" because it doesn't interact with regular matter. So to dark matter, empty space or the center of the earth are no different.

 

[emperor_of_localgroup]

In such case, it may be the dark matter that's responsible for
ordinary gravity. According to the story they detected 2 particles, would we be calling them 'dark particle" from now on? Do they have speed? If not, dark particles may be the reason for gravity.
Just a thought.

 

[Fomalhautian]

Here's another article on the subject from last Wednesday. Not really anything new to add, but I figure somebody may want to read it.

LINK TO ARTICLE