Millennium Run, Simulating the Universe - Using the Results
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Researchers hope that the experiments will help them to determine the nature of dark matter, which supposedly makes up three quarters of the universe. The mass points consist of both normal matter and dark matter. After the Big Bang, dark matter formed in strings and has been a driving force in pushing the universe outward at an increasing rate.
By comparing the results of the computer simulating cosmological theory with data that researchers have observed, the Virgo Consortium can find hints about what is and isn’t matching up. This can be helpful in revising our understanding of both dark matter and the creation of the universe. Already, the results have helped to answer curiosities about how radio signals began being transmitted from quasars so soon after they were created. The simulation shows that the signals are naturally occurring.
Since the project is simply a set of moving mass points, it is far from a working model of the known universe. Perhaps when processing technology has developed to the point of rendering the universe as a predictable model, we’ll be able to see where the Earth is heading in the next billions of years.
For plenty more pictures and video clips from the Millennium Run so far, visit the press release site: http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/galform/press/. There’s even a video of the Millennium Run zooming in and out of the universe, showing the clusters of mass up close and the string-like forms of mass from a distance. Another video gives a 3D tour of the universe.
Next: The Earth Simulator >>
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