Does anti-gravity explain dark matter?

Why do we have both positive and negative electric charges, but not both positive and negative masses? Could there be negative masses out there which anti-gravitate? How much such anti-gravitating matter behave? Why don't physicists look for it? Could anti-matter anti-gravitate? So many questions! At the end of today's video you will know all that physicists know about this.

0:00 Intro
0:31 Newton's law vs Coulomb's law
3:53 Does anti-matter anti-gravitate?
6:55 How would anti-gravitating matter behave?
8:27 Does anti-gravity explain dark matter or dark energy?
11:42 Sponsor message

#physics #universe

[zlatanonkovic]

Never thought I would ever hear somebody say "one of the lesser known facts about me is that I am one of the few world experts on anti-gravity". Sabine, you're a legend! Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge with such a broad audience.

[DavidGuyton]

This is my favorite video of yours so far.

[Kirhean]

Fascinating to hear an expert talk about the experience of being wrong. We don't hear enough about this in pop-sci media, but it's critical to the scientific process that we understand when we're wrong and how to handle being wrong.

Because even wrong answers can give interesting and useful insights.


Thank you!

[WylliamJudd]

Knowing that Sabine herself developed a theory based on beauty really changes how her "lost in math" thesis comes across. Definitely makes her seem more humble.

[johnpayne]

Thomas Huxley said (in various ways): “The saddest day in my life was to see a beautiful theory destroyed by an ugly fact.“
This presentation is beautiful on many levels.
Thanks again, Sabine!

[bbamboo]

My boss used to say "if the experiment always turns out the expected way, it wasn't an experiment". You are the sort of scientist that can make fundamental contributions since you can see when your ideas need to change, and learn along on the journey. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[AmbivalentInfluence]

Love this video. I disagree that your work was wasted, negatives are as important as positives and no one knows whether your negative result may become crucial to some later endeavour. I would also support 'guessing' (at least informed guessing), one ever knows. Keep up the excellent work and keep guessing.

[jakelee]

I think we are all attracted to intelligence. Ms Sabine is like the super massive black hole of intelligence. Even though I only understand less than 50% of her videos because of my lack of knowledge, I still learn and love every video. So much free knowledge and honest insight. Amazing amazing teacher.

[ppst]

Biene brilliant as usual:
"Sometimes I even listen to myself."
Well, there you're probably ahead of most of us...

[MichaelPiz]

"The theory of negative masses would therefore predict that the universe doesn't exist, which is in conflict with evidence."

You are such a joy to listen to! I'm adding this to my quote collection.

Also, the apple was clever.

Also also, how cool would it be in a few billion years if the Andromeda galaxy turns out to be anti-gravitating?

Finally also, I'm really enjoying Lost in Math.

[philmarshallmd]

This is such a great post on so many levels. First, taking a logical idea - that anti-gravitating matter may finally explain dark matter - and showing how it doesn't hold up to observation helps all future students and researchers in the area. Proving why something is wrong in science is just like "negative space" in art... the positive space couldn't exist without it.
Second, this post was personal to me because I fervently believe that the field of anti-gravity will become an enormous area of innovation, and I believe (hope) it will provide tremendous fodder for science fiction between now and then.
Thank you again for all your tremendous work!

[MaryAnnNytowl]

This is extremely cool! I had no idea you'd toyed with the idea of antigravity and it being what dark energy might be! And explaining why you had to abandon the hypothesis was quite clear, which helped me to understand it! Thank you! Here's a comment for the Almighty Algorithm! 👋 😊

[ThuhOthers]

I hear too often those in the applied sciences claiming their research was a "waste of time" when information (through scientific means) indicates that the outcomes are not what they or their institution had hoped for. Part of learning is through experience, and experience can teach us not only what to do, but most importantly what NOT to do.

Please be supportive when someone shares wisdom of what NOT to do; it's a difficult pill to swallow but also very valuable information.

[finnjacobsen]

Sometimes it feels good to stretch the brain towards something I really don't understand. I do enjoy Sabine's calm presentations of hard to grasp theories, it's almost like meditation.

[hewaa.babany]

Physicists should proud themselves for having a great criticizer like Sabine who never shy to criticize herself.
Thanks for this beautiful and great confession.

[winecheese]

You seem like a wonderful and awesome human being Sabine. Thank you for taking the time to educate us.
I wish you happiness and good health.

[dennistucker]

I love this video. I believe every road should be explored even when it gets us no where. Yes, it may have been a mistake and a waste of time. However, the effort can still have good value. It can serve as a guide to those of us that may have wanted to take the same path late on. Thereby saving others from making the same mistake. Thank you Sabine!

[weichen]

It is extremely enlightening to learn how a physicist has struggled with these different ideas. Thanks!

[tdb]

Wonderful video Sabine. I didn't understand much of what you were talking about other than on a cursory level, but your method of presentation makes for an engaging and incredibly interesting viewing experience. Even if much of it was outside my sphere of knowledge the information was presented in such a way as to make it enjoyable and informative to watch. Thanks, and do keep making these videos!

[luckybarrel]

I like the honesty in this one. It's hard when time we spent on stuff appears to be wasted. But if you're positive then there's always something to take away from it. A deeper learning, a new understanding and perhaps a step to the next successful theory! All the best Sabine!