Detection of gold and DNA will prove the existence of dark matter – A group of scientists from the United States proposed a model of the detector , which will help solve one of the major problems of world science. The wafer-thin gold plate with a plurality of attached to it strands of DNA can prove the existence of dark matter.
Dark matter is one of the great mysteries of astrophysics. It is believed that it consists of up to 85% of all matter in the universe. Most experts agree that it exists , but no one has yet managed to not only find this elusive matter, but also to provide any solid evidence of its existence.
Scientists believe that dark matter consists of weakly interacting massive particles (weakly interacting massive particles), abbreviated acronym WIMP (WIMP). These particles do not emit electromagnetic radiation and do not interact with it, so to detect them using the existing equipment possible.
According to the theory , dark matter particles come from the center of the universe , and reaching the solar system, rush past us like a river past the island . Earth rotates around the Sun , it moves downstream , then upstream of this invisible thread. To confirm this hypothesis, it is necessary to track the direction of the WIMPs during the day and the year.
However, the previously proposed options detectors such as cooled to absolute zero plate semiconductors, provided conflicting data too .
Detector invented (Andrzej Drukier) of biotech company Biotraces and his colleagues biochemists and astrophysicists , is a stack of finest gold plates one square meter. Below to each such list is attached a huge amount of single DNA strands , arrayed like a brush.
The detector consists of several hundred such plates placed between sheets of Mylar , said Wired.
The inventors believe that , if the particle dark matter fall into the plate , the core of the atom, in which it hits , will be knocked out of the lattice and fly in the same direction . Along the way, the atomic nucleus of gold would cut the DNA strand .
Scientists plan to collect the damaged DNA strands , each of which has a unique tag that identifies the position of the thread on a gold plate . Next, the researchers will establish the cut each filament . Given that the sequence of DNA segments is well known , the fracture can be determined with nanometer precision .
By combining information on all threads, the researchers built a three-dimensional model , which will be clearly seen heading WIMP . Analysis of data obtained at different times of the year , will be able to confirm or refute the hypothesis of dark matter flows coming from the center of the universe .
