I go away for a week on vacation on come back to find you all discussing DNA on one thread and particle physics on another thread. I missed you guys!!
Ah yes, we spend quite a lot of time discussing particle physics, dark matter, black holes, and other fun things that make the mind say wow.
Just remember, Mamaandmore... all atoms are made up of particles such as protons, neutron, and electrons... and all of these are made up of quarks, which come in six flavors... up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom... and are held together by gluons (pronounced Glue-Ons), and all quarks are thought to be made up of strings which are energy vibrations in 11 dimensions. And who says physicists don't have a sense of humor!! Just keep those questions coming from those little minds. It is a great way to make their brains question the known universe and stretch and grow.
Here is a video that I just found on the internet that might help explain it.
http://discovermagazine.com/twominutesorlessClick on the String Ducky.
I'm not sure that they get everything right, but hey... it is just a two-minute video.
What do you mean dark matter is on it's last legs?
I'm pretty sure that Dark Matter is alive and kicking. Unless they just found out something while I was sitting on a beach without a speck of news. Several people have claimed to have detected dark matter in the last six months, but I'm not sure if it panned out or not.
I just read a fascinating article on Dark Energy in the 2008 issue of Discovery Magazine entitled, What Fills the Emptiness?
http://www5.mygazines.com/magazines/view/442They think that when the Large Hadron Collider comes on-line soon that they will be able to detect the elusive particle called the Higgs boson.
Besides virtual particles and dark energy, theorist believe that the universe contains something called the Higgs field. Like dark energy, the Higgs field is thought to permeate all of space. But unlike the discovery of dark enery, which was completely unexpected and is still inexplicable, the detection of the Higgs field won't surprise physicists at all....
It is a very fun article to read. In the same issue, they have another article on the Large Hadron Collider called The Menace of Mini Black holes. The theory goes that the LHC may have enough energy to not only smash particle to bits and look inside, but to also create mini black hole. There is some debate as to whether their experiment will cause the end of the Earth or not. <smirk> I wouldn't exactly share that particular thought with any of the kiddos for fear of causing science anxiety, but the rest of the article does a wonderful job of explaining string theory and how it may combine to gravity.
Maybe in addition to the Word of the Day, we need a Science Tid-Bit of the Day?