The 5th Force: Dark Force

[ihwip]

I was thinking, what if dark matter and dark energy can both be explained by a previously unobserved force? This would be a force similar to the weak/strong forces but instead of being observable only in small distances, it would only be observable in long distances. I am thinking maybe the five forces go from strongest/closest to strongest/farthest. The weak/strong forces do not pull at very far distances so their energy would diminish rapidly with distance but would be very strong at the microscopic scale. Gravity seems to be a "macrological" force where it only is observable when large amounts of mass accumulate. Electromagnetism seems to be the largest scale as light does not diminish in strength over distance.

This 5th force would be weaker than gravity but be observable once large amounts of mass are all together (galaxies and the universe in general)

I am not sure how this would explain both. Any thoughts?

 

[ChristineDawson]

that's interesting. thanks -

 

[derekmcd]

I was thinking, what if dark matter and dark energy can both be explained by a previously unobserved force? This would be a force similar to the weak/strong forces but instead of being observable only in small distances, it would only be observable in long distances. I am thinking maybe the five forces go from strongest/closest to strongest/farthest. The weak/strong forces do not pull at very far distances so their energy would diminish rapidly with distance but would be very strong at the microscopic scale. Gravity seems to be a "macrological" force where it only is observable when large amounts of mass accumulate. Electromagnetism seems to be the largest scale as light does not diminish in strength over distance.

This 5th force would be weaker than gravity but be observable once large amounts of mass are all together (galaxies and the universe in general)

I am not sure how this would explain both. Any thoughts?

Dark matter and dark energy are completely unrelated to each other other than using the term 'dark'. Dark matter is a hypothesis that describes missing mass in in galaxies and galactic clusters. Dark energy describes the observed accelerated expansion of the observable universe.

Similarly, the strong and weak forces are unrelated to each other. The strong forces describes how gluons mediate the forces between quarks that bind to form proton and neutrons. The weak force is quite opposite. Not sure I can sum it up in one sentence, but it is most commonly associated with beta decay that gives us radiation.

You are also mixing terms by using electromagnetism. In the context of your original post, I would assume you meant the electromagnetic force which does, indeed, diminish over distance via the inverse square law in the same way the gravitational force diminishes.

I'm not say a fifth force doesn't exist. Searches for a fifth fundamental force is an active area of research. However, as you can see, the four known forces all have their specific domain. Dark matter and dark energy also have their own specific domains. A fifth force that describes both is highly unlikely.

 

[kyle_baron]

IMO, dark matter acts as an ether around galaxies. It's probably just all the virtual particles, that pop in and out of existance. The space in and around galaxies as an ether, maybe? Hmmmmmm.....interesting.

 

[kyle_baron]

Furthermore, this "virtual ether" would have all the properties of virtual particles: It would be moving, and electrically discharging energy. The question now becomes, is this moving electrically discharged ether equivalent to anti-gravity, which could affect space-time on the largest scales? If virtual particles can evaporate a blackhole in a gazillion years (1x10 to the 100th power), I would think it can affect space time also. Here on earth, the virtual particles are known as the Casimir Force.