What is the universe made of?

Question

Wired Magazine recently asked some "Big Questions" in the cover story. This is one of them.

Details:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.02/bigquestions.html?pg=3#universe

Answer 1

We used to think we know what the Universe is made of (electrons, protons, and neutrons). But now, we just have names for what the Universe is made of. Because, we have NO idea what they are. Dark matter and dark energy are the current labels used to describe the unknown form of matter and the unknown form of energy that dominates the Universe. So according to data from the WMAP observation, the distribution is this: 74% dark energy, 22% dark matter, and 4% ordinary matter.

Currently scientists believe that dark matter are made of mostly new elementary particles as yet undiscovered, and it is believed that these new particles are those predicted by supersymmetry, which is a requirement for Superstring theory. If so, then String Theory, our current best model for understanding the nature of the Universe, would be getting a major boost in confirmation.

As for dark energy, there are two proposed forms of dark energy: the cosmological constant, which is a constant energy density filling space homogeneously (this was predicted by Einstein but later recanted and called this his biggest blunder), and quintessence, a dynamic field whose energy density can vary in time and space. Distinguishing between these two alternatives requires high-precision measurements of the expansion of the universe to understand how the speed of the expansion changes over time. The rate of expansion is parameterized by the cosmological equation of state. Measuring the equation of state of dark energy is one of the biggest efforts in observational cosmology today.

Answer 2

There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

Answer 3

There is a theory that the universe is made up of really small but very heavy and compact particles called dark matter

Answer 4

mass and energy are the only things in the universe. Its distribution and form is what gives the universe its structure and characteristics. Matter, according to Einstein, is only another form of energy anyway, so in reality, there is only energy in the universe.

Answer 5

the visible universe(stars, galaxies) are 90 percent hydrogen, and 10 percent helium, that is just for the matter(galaxies, stars) BUT for the black stuff around matter, (like when you look up in the sky and you see stars and black, the black is something we call dark matter and dark energy, dark matter and dark energy make up 90 percent of the universe and matter makes up 10 percent of the universe. Its pretty simple.

Answer 6

The ONLY truth is that nobody knows (for the present)

Answer 7

It is made up of a substance which Aristotle called "Aether".
What ever it is ,no one but our Creator knows.

Answer 8

space-time

Answer 9

matter, anti-matter and energy