npr:
Dark energy is here to stay. This year’s Nobel Prize in Physicswas given to a trio of astronomers who made an extraordinary discovery in 1998: that the universe not only is expanding, but it’s doing so at an accelerated rate. Nobel Prize winner physicist Frank Wilczek called this ”the most fundamentally mysterious thing in basic science.” It’s an understatement to say that when the accelerated universe was first announced, the physics and astronomy community were completely baffled. To a large extent, we still are, 13 years later. I’d like to use the blog today to put their discovery into context, exploring why dark energy is so bizarre.
—Marcelo Gleiser in 13.7: Cosmos And Culture
