A Squirrel of Dark Matter
Our best estimate for how much dark matter there is on Earth, is probably less than you think! Also how a severed toe ended up in a cocktail.
Yes, the excerpt this time is wildly varied but that's what you get when Alfredo goes to a conference full of other nerds. That's how you end up learning about the mysteries of the universe as well as the Canadian cocktail that features a real, severed human toe. Whole shades of disgusting and more on that in a second, Science first.
Back in the Summer at another conference, I was co-running an LGBTQ+ luncheon. Everyone was asked to share a favourite conspiracy theory or make one up on the spot. Someone made one I have not stopped thinking about and I am angry at myself that I was not able to catch them at the end to get a name to give proper credit (if you are reading this please get in touch!!)
The conspiracy goes like this. We have recently estimated the local dark matter density. Dark matter is a hypothetical substance that is invisible (and only interacts with gravity) but outweighs regular matter five-to-one, on a large scale. That estimate suggests that there is about 700 grams of dark matter within the volume of our planet.
700 grams is roughly the weight of a squirrel. Given that there is a squirrel's worth of dark matter on Earth, we might not have found it yet because it is just one, actual, specific squirrel... I might have found it!
So, I was at the SciComm Collider hosted by the Perimeter Institute. The three day event, organised by Dr Katie Mack, was focus on the different ways to do science communications from short format content (check out the_astro_stud, drstarkid, physicsfun, and evanthorizon), long form and much longer form (from Dr Becky Smethurst and the SciShow team to the excellent Angela Collier), and writing (where I was among my friend Rami who runs Space Australia, some of the team from Quanta, Randall Munroe of XKCD fame, Kelly Weinersmith, Daniel Whiteson, and many others).
On the last day, as we were out celebrating what a wonderful three days we'd had, we had a little round of "what's your Roman empire?" the memefied version is what is something that continuously pops into one's mind.
There were several brilliant things suggested, such as the importance of iodine in diet: did you know that the "fancy" pink salt actually lacks it, so is less healthy than the cheap salt?
The other thing was disgusting food and drinks, and Parisa Nozari gifted us with the story of the Canadian toe drink. This was a real thing that started with someone's toe lost to frostbite and conserved in alcohol, which was then used in a drink... I can't go on, but you can read more here.
My Roman Empire were two:
- I think that physics is close to solving nuclear fusion, but solar panels will continue to get so cheap that we will never see widespread use of fusion.
- Efforts to build a lunar economy are not serious.
The morning after, just hours before I got to write this, I walked about near the hotel, and I saw a fully black squirrel. I was not quick enough to snap a photo, but the whole Dark Matter Squirrel came back to me with the speed of a freight train!
Now, this and forevermore* is my Roman Empire!
*If we actual discover dark matter, this joke won't work anymore
Wilton Square
Invisible Rainbows is now out worldwide!