this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2024
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Futurology

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Gravity can exist without mass, dark matter could be myth: Study (interestingengineering.com)
submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Does this explain the bullet cluster? If it doesn't, it's kinda useless.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 days ago (4 children)

the current theory is “not by itself sufficient to discredit the dark matter hypothesis — it could be an interesting mathematical exercise at best, but it is the first proof that gravity can exist without mass,” he added.

(Quote by the author of the study himself)

It's a purely mathematical construct that could explain bending of light without mass.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Sure, I'm blaming the concerned journalist(s) here. It's rlly scummy to hype up an evidenceless hypothesis like this. Does injustice to both, the scientists and the public.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago

Typical, scientist: "My paper does NOT say THIS". Press: "Scientist claims THIS!"

[–] CheeseNoodle 3 points 3 days ago

To be fair dark matter is a purely mathematical construct to explain the presence of gravity without (visible) mass. Certainly dark matter has more credibility than this new idea but hypothetical mathematical constructs make up a good chunk of physics.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

But per the definition given involving negative mass, it should be "meassurable mass in the presence of exotic matter". Anywho...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

I mean, cool to prove a theory of massless gravity though, whatever their motivation.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 days ago

You say that about everything