The leading theory is that dark matter is made up of elementary particles, perhaps created some 14 billion years ago at the time of the Big Bang. These hypothetical objects are called “weakly interacting massive particles,” or WIMPs. Typical WIMP searches employ huge vats of an ultra-dense liquid such as xenon; if a dark matter particle hits the liquid, physicists should be able to see the radiation emitted by atomic nuclei as they recoil from collisions with WIMPs. But numerous such experiments have found nothing so far—leading some scientists to wonder if dark matter may be made of something else altogether. Macros are one of several alternatives to WIMPS that have been put forward. The idea is that dark matter, rather than being composed of elementary particles, is actually made up of macroscopic clumps of matter. These clumps may weigh as much as a few ounces, perhaps the weight of a golf ball. However, because of their extreme density (several hundred pounds per cubic inch), all of that mass would be packed into a space about the size of a bacterium. But, crucially, macros are unlikely to be just sitting around; more likely, they’re whipping through space with speeds of between roughly 150 and 300 miles per second (compared to roughly a half mile per second for a rifle bullet).
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
