Is there really dark matter?

[Frank1985]

It hasn`t been proved to exist, as far as I know. But, if there`s no dark matter to bend, and we can`t travel faster than the speed of light, can we ever see aliens?

 

[promytius]

Since so many more people believe in dark matter than believe in aliens, I don't see the connection.
No "proof" of either, yet one is part and parcel of modern physics, and the other is still fictionalized.

 

[Valeriy Tarasov]

We don't know why peripheral stars in spiral galaxies have constant velocity (by the way in early universe it is not observed phenomena) - speculate about dark matter, particles which are not detected. Atomic nuclei cannot be explain for proton/neutrons composition - speculate about strong force, quarks which don't exist as all other particles. It looks as both cases are nothing more than speculations.

 

[Catastrophe]

What I do not like about dark matter (although I can see why it might have been introduced) is that it has no comparative components of "ordinary" matter. That is, it is nothing but a label for an unknown?

Or am I missing something? Are we really in touch with only 5% of thr Universe? - or is 5% far too high an estimate anyway?

Cat

 

[Valeriy Tarasov]

That is, it is nothing but a label for an unknown?

Yes, IMHO.