We still have a lot to learn about space, but researchers who have looked at the universe’s dark spaces say they believe they can generate “dark energy.”
It is difficult to wrap one’s head around the fact that the width of some of these structures may reach several billions of light-years. People frequently refer to these voids as “holes” in space, and some argue that they are an example of genuine empty space because they do not contain any stars, galaxies, plasma, gas, dust, or black holes. Other people believe that these voids are filled with dust and gas. However, this is not accurate from a scientific standpoint.
Forbes states that researchers have discovered that these voids in space are actually large clouds of gas in their typical configuration. Nevertheless, a new paper that was highlighted by Live Science suggests that the origin of dark energy may lie in the vacancies that exist in the universe. And it is this energy that scientists believe could be driving the expansion of the universe at an ever-increasing rate.
Astrophysicists have been scratching their heads for years over the unfathomable force that is responsible for the strange behavior of the universe. Paul Sutter, an astrophysicist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook University and the Flatiron Institute in New York City, explains for Live Science what this new research means.
Sutter provided an explanation, saying, “What does empty energy have to do with vacancies?” For one thing, the effects of accelerated expansion are not felt inside star systems or galaxies. This is because the gravitational attraction of matter is so great that it prevents matter from escaping under its own gravitational pull. As an illustration, neither our solar system nor the Milky Way are expanding as a result of the presence of dark energy. However, due to the fact that voids are almost entirely devoid of anything, they have the ability to conceal the effects of dark energy. I have a better sense of calm.”
But now, in this brand-new paper, researchers are claiming that dark energy is not only present in vacancies; they also claim that vacancies are the source of dark energy. Back billions of years ago, matter was fairly evenly distributed throughout space. However, over time, regions that were slightly larger started to attract more matter into it. This process went on until the gathered matter eventually formed galaxies, clusters, and clusters.
Sutter provides an explanation, saying that “as vacancies grow, the walls of galaxies between them continually thin and eventually dissolve.” This results in the vacancies merging together. In the next few billion years, the voids will break through the cosmic web, isolating all matter hundreds of millions of light-years away from each other.
This, in turn, causes an acceleration of the universe’s expansion, which is consistent with the estimates of dark energy. Although in order to validate this hypothesis, additional study in this field is required, there is no denying that this is an intriguing proposition.