Does the value of Newton's constant, G, oscillate rapidly? If it does, say two physicists in the US, it might resolve the dilemma of the Universe's 'missing mass'. Ninety per cent of the matter in the Universe is thought to be in an invisible or 'dark', form. But recently, cosmological models involving missing mass in the form of cold dark matter have run into conflict with observations (New Scientist, Science, 23 February).
Paul Steinhardt and Frank Accetta of the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new approach to the problem of matching up observations of the amount of matter in the Universe with theoretical predictions. It involves rapid changes in the constant in Newton's law of gravity.
Cosmologists have compelling reasons for believing that the Universe is 'flat' - that is, there is enough matter around to gravitationally brake the expansion of the Universe so that it sits on the ...
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