Holy shit, dark matter (possibly)!

There’s a one-in-four chance that two particles detected in a science project based in a deep mine in Minnesota may have detected dark matter — the stuff from which matter itself is likely derived, and that which is theorized to be responsible for the structure and shape of the universe as we know it. This is epic win, if so, as it pretty much proves (e.g. acts as strong supporting evidence for) the standard theoretical model of cosmology.

“If they have a real signal, it’s a seriously big deal. The scale on which people are looking for dark matter is vast,” said Gerry Gilmore at Cambridge University’s institute of astronomy. “Dark matter is what created the structure of the universe and is essentially what holds it together. When ordinary matter falls into lumps of dark matter it turns into galaxies, stars, planets and people. Without it, we wouldn’t be here,” Gilmore said.

If this is real, it will kickstart the field of particle physics in a big way. So exciting!