If current theories of physics are correct, the observable universe of atoms and molecules is merely froth floating on a sea of dimly perceived stuff called, for that very reason, dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter is perceived through its gravitational pull on the more familiar "normal" matter of stars and galaxies, while dark energy is perceived by the opposite effect-it pushes ordinary matter apart. Until recently, physicists of both the subatomic and the astronomical persuasions thought that, gravity and the cosmo-logical push aside, dark matter and dark energy tended to keep to themselves. Now some of them are not so sure. Particle physicists, in particular, are beginning to think that dark matter and dark energy may actually be responsible for the loudest bangs since the big one—and astronomers are not happy that the particle boys and girls are muscling in on their territory.
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