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Published online 3 November 2009 | Nature 462, 23 (2009) | doi:10.1038/462023a

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Dark-matter test faces obstacles

Access to crystals may hamper bid to repeat experiment.

A group of scientists is hoping to replicate a controversial Italian experiment that claims to have detected dark matter. But they might have to do so without the help, or the equipment, of the original group.

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  • It is an excellent attempt to sense dark matter but it won't help us identify its non-baryonic constituents. It is essential that we identify further, as the primordial matter created at Big Bang gave rise to both kinds of matter, visible and dark. It will help some of the continuing mysteries of the Universe.

    • 04 Nov, 2009
    • Posted by: Narendra Nath
  • Trying to detect DM is like trying to find a gost.
    It is a complete waste of time effort and money.
    Because I explain and derive an extension to Gravity
    that explains the mystery behind DM.
    check cosmicdarkmatter dot com
    Tissa

    • 04 Nov, 2009
    • Posted by: Tissa Perera
  • Experimental results should be objectively repeatable if anyone is to believe them in the long run. By making it practically impossible for other people to repeat their experiment DAMA are ensuring that the results will never be believed. The louder they shout, the less crediibility they have

    • 05 Nov, 2009
    • Posted by: Thomas Dent
  • "Reproducing DAMA's experiment without its cooperation is difficult because an intellectual-property agreement between the group and its supplier, Saint-Gobain in Paris, prevents the sale of the ultrapure sodium iodide crystals to other groups."

    Is this sort of thing common?

    • 05 Nov, 2009
    • Posted by: Douglas H. Borsom
  • Matter and ‘ dark matter.’
    / Fact and Speculation. /
    =====.
    1.
    Fact.
    The detected material mass of the matter in the Universe is so small
    (the average density of all substance in the Universe is approximately
    p=10^-30 g/sm^3) that it cannot ‘close’ the Universe into sphere
    and therefore our Universe as whole is ‘open’, endless Vacuum.
    But what to do with the infinite Universe the physicists don't know.
    The concept of infinite/ eternal means nothing
    to a scientists. They do not understand how they could
    draw any real, concrete conclusions from this characteristic.
    A notions of ‘more, less, equally, similar’ could not
    be conformed to a word infinity or eternity.
    The Infinity/Eternity is something, that has no borders,
    has no discontinuity; it could not be compared to anything.
    Considering so, scientists came to conclusion that the
    infinity/eternity defies to a physical and mathematical definition
    and cannot be considered in real processes.
    Therefore they have proclaimed the strict requirement
    (on a level of censor of the law):
    « If we want that the theory would be correct,
    the infinity/eternity should be eliminated ».
    Thus they direct all their mathematical abilities,
    all intellectual energy to the elimination of infinity.
    Therefore they invented an abstract ‘dark matter and dark energy’.
    They say: ‘ 90% or more of the matter in the Universe is unseen.’
    And nobody knows what it is.
    2.
    Speculation.
    Unknown ‘dark matter ‘ it is matter which makes up the difference
    between observed mass of a galaxies and calculated mass……
    which….will …’close ‘ ….the Universe, as …….
    as……the astrophysicists want.
    ========== . .
    Israel Sadovnik Socratus

    • 05 Nov, 2009
    • Posted by: Israel socratus
  • While I may disagree with some of the implicit assumptions behind the motivation for these experiments in the first place, the fact that there is not cooperation between these two groups is rather disappointing. It goes against the basic tenants of empirical science to not cooperate to prove the repeatability of these results.

    • 11 Nov, 2009
    • Posted by: S.C. Kavassalis