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Dark matter is known to exist primarily because of its large-scale gravitational effects. Nothing is definitively known about the particle or particles that compose the dark matter. How likely do you think it is that an understanding of the particle nature of dark matter can be reached on Earth?
We now know that LIGO successfully detected a gravitational wave originating from a binary black hole merger on September 14, 2015, four days before LIGO was going to officially begin taking data. At the time of detection LIGO was still in an “engineering mode”, testing systems in anticipation of a data-taking run. This may have been extremely fortunate timing. How much of a role do you think luck plays in scientific research? Do you think it is possible that we have missed out on certain observations because in those cases we were unlucky? Explain your answers.
The basic design of the interferometer used by LIGO was invented by Albert Michelson and used in a famous experiment that sought to prove the existence of aether. It failed to do so, as we now know that aether does not exist, but the interferometer design was a boon to science and is widely used in many different fields. What do you think about the importance of null or negative results? Should scientists be as strongly encouraged to publish negative results as they are to publish positive findings? Explain your answers.
Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves but believed they were too small to be detected. Scientists at LIGO have now officially detected them, proving Einstein wrong. As technology advances so will our ability to observe and understand the universe. Do you believe that continued progress in technology will allow any scientific question to be answered, given enough time? Or do you think that there are certain aspects of the physical world that will forever be out of reach? Explain your answers.
From Earth, we can see cosmic background radiation with the same properties at the same distance in every direction—what is referred to in this Master Class as the “plasma screen.” Does this mean Earth is at the center of our universe? If not, where is the “center?” Did the universe have a single starting point? Explain your answer.
It’s been said that the entire universe is simply a collection of mathematical equations. Assuming that one day we know all the laws of physics, do you think those equations would reduce human beings—our thoughts, actions, fates—to mathematical processes? What would this mean about individualism? Determinism?
One of the biggest criticisms of the inflationary model is that it makes untestable predictions. Some scientists claim that inflation is too flexible a model, “immune” to experiment–that it allows for all possible outcomes and is unfalsifiable, and scientifically meaningless. Are you convinced that the inflationary paradigm is truly explanatory? Do its shortcomings have any impact on its verity? Do we need a more robust theory to describe the origin, evolution, and future of our universe? Explain your answer.