Sala Seminarios IFIC (Edf. Institutos de Investigación) Lunes, 1 de Marzo de 2010 a las 12:00 PM
Resumen
Dark matter is stuff that neither emits nor absorbs its fair share of
radiation at any wavelength but does exert gravitational forces and so
contributes to formation and stability of astronomical structures. Both
the idea and the name are considerably older than most astronomers
realize, and half a dozen or more entitities that one might now describe
as "dark matter candidates" predate the 20th century. The talk will
examine some of these and then focus on the gradual accumulation of data
from about 1915 to 1975 that eventually persuaded most of our community
that dark matter exists and is important. Just what it is, is a very
different issue. A recent tabulation included 75 candidates, some better
motivated than others, and the talk will end with an opportunity for
those present to vote for their favorites (the speaker has changed her
mind several times over the years).
