Line #22 Main/OurDarkMatterIsMysterious


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7	[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dark_matter_pie_chart__still_1.jpg]]]]
8	[[caption-width-right:350:So what the heck is it?\
9	[-[[https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10943 Image via NASA.]]-]]]
10
11	->''"Dark matter and dark energy are two things we measure in the universe that are making things happen, and we have no idea what the cause is."''
12	-->-- '''UsefulNotes/NeilDeGrasseTyson'''
13
14	In real life, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter dark matter]] is a kind of hypothetical matter that constitutes most of the matter of our universe. Its existence is only ever detected via its gravitational and radiation effects, and so far, no one is certain what a "dark matter" actually looks like.
15
16	Perhaps owing to its hypothetical nature, in fiction, dark matter is interpreted in various ways. As a phlebotinum mainly, dark matter may be a PowerSource, ToxicPhlebotinum, something behind MinovskyPhysics, etc. A common assumption in visual media is that it's ''literally'' dark; in reality, of course, if dark matter comprised clouds of blackness floating through the universe, we'd be able to see it. Scientists only call it "Dark" because they're [[LiteralMetaphor in the dark]] about it.
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18	Note that simply naming a character or a device "dark matter", especially as a proper or brand name, isn't sufficient: dark matter must be portrayed as a ''substance'' of some kind.
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20	May be related to CastingAShadow when used as a superpower, or GravityMaster in slightly more realistic depictions. Compare {{Technobabble}}, when writers throw together scientific terminology without regard for the words' actual definitions, and PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo, which similarly makes something science fictiony by appending the name of a real or fictional subatomic particle. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No relation]] to the ''Series/DarkMatter2015'' TV series or OffscreenVillainDarkMatter. For hypothetical ''characters'' whose existence can only be inferred, see UnknownCharacter.
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22	!!Examples
23
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Comic Books]]
27	* ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'' introduces the Dark Multiverse to Franchise/TheDCU, a realm of dark matter and dark energy inhabited by nightmarish versions of various heroes.
28	* A Twelfth Doctor story in ''ComicBook/DoctorWhoTitan'' has sentient dark matter that can possess people and is plotting to blot out the sun. Yeah, it's pretty silly.
29	* In the ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'', people with CastingAShadow powers sometimes refer to the weird shady stuff they summon as "dark matter". It seems to drain all light and heat from the immediate vicinity, and can vary in consistency between "syrupy" and "hits like a bullet from a compressed air gun".
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
33	* ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' has the [[http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Reality-Stone-Aether-Thor-2-The-Dark-World.jpg Aether]], one of the six Infinity Gems. Which, despite the name, is more of a [[TimeyWimeyBall wibbly-wobbly]] ebby-flowy fluid capable of converting regular matter into dark matter. Also despite the name, it's visible to the naked eye with a sinister red glow, and is if not sapient, intelligent enough to want to protect itself.
34	* In ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'', dark matter is used to power Lockdown's ship.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Literature]]
38	* ''Literature/Aeon14'':
39	** FasterThanLightTravel is accomplished by transitioning to [[SubspaceOrHyperspace an alternate layer of spacetime]] called the dark layer where dark matter has physical form. Dark matter is depicted as pure unadulterated mass that drifts like icebergs according to gravity patterns and tends to be denser inside star systems. It's also fed on by {{Eldritch Abomination}}s that live in the dark layer and have been known to eat ships as well. As such, it's very dangerous to transit into the dark layer inside a star system.
40	** The climax of ''Destiny Lost'' uses this to {{justif\|iedTrope}}y an UnrealisticBlackHole. [[spoiler:The Bollam's World Federation is using [[ArtificialGravity graviton generators]], which work by pulling gravitons from the dark layer, to artificially expand a brown dwarf so that it doesn't ignite normally and therefore acts as a helium-3 factory. Ships from the Hegemony of Worlds blow up the generators, which causes the planet to collapse all at once, setting off a titanic fusion explosion that compresses the lower layers below the black hole threshold. The explosion also provides energy to keep the generators' portals to the dark layer open, and the black hole begins to consume dark matter, resulting in a "dark matter black hole" that is much larger and more powerful than the object it originally formed from.]]
41	* ''Literature/AlexisCarew'': Darkspace is an [[SubspaceOrHyperspace alternate layer of spacetime]] where dark matter and dark energy have physical form. This is used mainly to [[SpaceIsAnOcean make darkspace an ocean]]: dark matter forms "shoals" and "reefs" around star systems that can enmesh and destroy ships, and ships [[SpaceSailing sail]] through darkspace by harnessing the "winds" of dark energy, which behave differently close and far from star systems and sometimes whips up into storms that can destroy a ship. ''Privateer'' in particular takes place in a region of space called the Barbary where dark matter formations are much denser. SpacePirates have set up a base inside a system that is all but blockaded by dark matter except for small difficult-to-navigate passages, and Alexis makes two attempts at penetrating it.
42	* In ''Literature/AndAnotherThing'', Wowbagger's (stolen) starship is made of dark matter, making it into a ShadowWalker that phases into a "dark dimension" for FTL travel unlike any other method used in the setting. Looking out the window while traveling this way is as disquieting as ten near-death experiences, and causes you to confront all your deep-seated emotional baggage (rather handily for character development purposes).
43	* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': The Number 2 Level 5, Kakine Teitoku, has the esper power called Dark Matter, and it's the ability to generate material that has its own laws of physics. However, Kakine's "Dark Matter" is explicitly not like the real dark matter.
44	-->'''Kakine:''' The Dark Matter that I produce is a substance that does not exist in this world. I don't mean it hasn't been discovered, but that it should ''theoretically'' exist; I mean, it actually does not exist. Matter that doesn't exist operates under laws which don't exist. Like say, turning the light from the sun into rays that can kill a man.
45	* Parodied in one of the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' books when, after discussing the notion of a mysterious form of matter that makes up most of the universe, the narrator concludes that it must be the paperwork.
46	* In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'', dark matter (introduced as Dust in Lyra's world) is a central part of the trilogy, and is the substance that angels are made up of. In addition, some creatures (like the mulefa) can see it and use it to identify intelligent beings, as it gathers around them in large quantities.
47	* In ''Literature/LucifersStar'', the universe has a second dimension called Jumpspace. It is a mysterious dimension which underlines everything else. It is full of bizarre alien entities, sanity blasting visuals, and weird gravitonic anomalies.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
51	* ''Series/TheFlash2014'' uses dark matter as its go-to AppliedPhlebotinum for SuperEmpowering. If there's a metahuman then chances are they were hit by dark matter at some point. Most notably, the STAR Labs [[MagicalParticleAccelerator Particle Accelerator]] explosion was a MassSuperEmpoweringEvent that released dark matter all over Central City.
52	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S1E12DarkMatters Dark Matters]]", the commercial transport ship ''Nestor'' is thrown out of hyperspace into a starless void. In this void, they find a huge quantity of dark matter and two ships, the UNS ''Slayton'' and an alien ship. Everyone on both of those ships is dead. An apparition of Captain John Owens of the ''Slayton'' appears to the crew of the ''Nestor'' and tells them that their "souls" are trapped in the pocket of space created by the dark matter. As such, they cannot move on to whatever comes next, whether that be Heaven, Hell or oblivion. The same fate has befallen the aliens.
53	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Typically used as part of {{technobabble}}, often in the form of [[SpaceClouds dark matter nebulae]].
54	** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS02E024FirstFlight First Flight]]" Vulcan scientists are said to have excited dark matter in experiments, causing it to give off light, by bombarding it with metreon particles. The ''Enterprise'' crew do the same to a dark matter nebula encountered in the episode.
55	** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryS1E07MagicToMakeTheSanestManGoMad Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad]]", Harry Mudd uses capsules of dark matter as weapons against the ''Discovery'' crew. They're shown as little purple-glowing balls that disintegrate people they hit.
56	** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E25InTheory In Theory]]" features the ''Enterprise'' exploring a dark matter nebula which caused bits of the ship to randomly vanish. This caused activity from Spot (Data's cat) exiting Data's room without using the doors to a crew member falling through the floor after it vanishes and then getting killed when it comes back.
57	** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E02RocksAndShoals Rocks and Shoals]]", Sisko et al. attempt to evade Jem'Hadar pursuit by flying into a dark matter nebula, but suffer damage and crash on a planet inside it.
58	** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
59	*** "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS1E12Cathexis Cathexis]]": Chakotay and Tuvok pass a dark matter nebula in a shuttle and are attacked by {{energy being}}s living inside it, which becomes a {{Body Surf}}ing[=/=]DemonicPossession plot.
60	*** "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E15Threshold Threshold]]": Neelix says he once lost a warp nacelle traveling through a dark matter nebula, which gives Paris and Kim inspiration on how to finish building their transwarp drive.
61	*** "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E8OneSmallStep One Small Step...]]" featured a dark matter asteroid, which looked like the shape of an asteroid but was see-through.
62	*** "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E20GoodShepherd Good Shepherd]]": ''Voyager'' encounters a species of dark matter lifeforms that again take over a RedShirt's body and try to communicate. The guest star panics and kills one of them, and the aliens attack the ship.
63	* ''Series/TheXFiles'': The episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS02E23SoftLight Soft Light]]" has a scientist exposed to dark matter in the lab; afterwards, his shadow causes anyone who touches it to melt into a puddle.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
67	* In ''TabletopGame/DarkMatter1999'', the Earth passes through a high concentration of dark matter. The total amount of magical and psionic energy increases and gates to other dimensions open up, allowing weird monsters to come through.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Video Games]]
71	* In ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime'', Akano, the second [[MaskOfPower Quantum Mask]] that Crash and Coco meet, has the power of dark matter. Having him equipped imbues the bandicoots' {{Spin Attack}}s with added density, allowing them to spin indefinitely, break reinforced crates that they can usually only destroy through their GroundPound attack, glide through the air, and deflect certain attacks.
72	* In ''VideoGame/CryingSuns'', the Dark Matter Cannon covers a targeted area with spheres resembling small black holes. These dark matter spheres act like a wall, forming a temporary obstacle that squadrons cannot pass through.
73	* The ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' games hint at the mysterious, civilization-killing Darkness being linked to dark matter, as it and entities associated with it tend to emit [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_photon phaetons]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axion axions]], and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_neutrino#Properties sterile neutrinos]] (all theoretical particles potentially linked to dark matter) when their RealityWarping properties come into play. Intriguingly, ''Destiny 2'' revealed that dark matter is [[spoiler:the "flesh" of the equally enigmatic Nine: nine galaxy-spanning loops of (physically accurate: undetectable and only interacting with gravity) dark matter centered on nine bodies of the Solar System, with their consciousness "seeded" by the minuscule gravitational fluctuations of living things moving around on them propagating across each loop.]] The connection between them, if any, is currently unclear.
74	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
75	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'': In the hands of a Chemist, Dark Matter in combination with another consumable item will usually do the opposite of what the item does in regular gameplay. Maiden's Kiss transforms the target into a toad, Eyedrop causes Darkness, Phoenix Down kills the target, Ether drops the enemy's MP to 1/4... High-end combinations with Dragon Fang or itself result in high-level magic like Dark Breath and Shadowflare.
76	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Dark Matter is one of the items Garnet can equip to learn new SummonMagic, allowing her to summon Odin, who can OneHitKill enemies with his Zantetsuken. It can also be used in battle to deal an instant 9999 damage to the enemy and no enemy in the game has more than [[UsefulNotes/PowersOfTwoMinusOne 65535 HP]], but there are plenty of ways to accomplish that without consuming a rare item to do so and you can only ever get 3 of them, limiting its usefulness to the final boss or the {{Superboss}} Ozma, who holds 2 of them to begin with.
77	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'':
78	*** Dark Matter is a "catalyst" item used to repair gear, coming in various grades of purity that allow it to be used on higher and higher levels. Repairing your own gear with Dark Matter lets you increase its durability ''above'' 100%, which you can't get from NPC Menders.
79	*** In ''Endwalker'', a rather important plot point is [[spoiler:a form of energy called Dynamis, which makes up 68.3% of all energy in the universe, and is responsible for things on a large scale, but invisible on small scales where aether overrides it.]] If one is even passingly familiar with the real-world science on dark matter, it's obvious that this is a reference to it.
80	* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': Dark Matter is a forgeable item, dropped by firebirds. The gear crafted from it is among the best there is, but it's all cursed (can't be unequipped without a priest, and occasionally stuns the wielder without a specific one-of-a-kind item).
81	* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', dark matter is a power source used by [[TheEmpire the Combine]].
82	* Recurring villain Dark Matter in the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series is a living blob of darkness that flies through space, finding planets to be corrupted/consumed. There are multiple Dark Matters in the universe, all of them coming from their master/"core", Zero (another CosmicEntity).
83	* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', "Dark Matter" is the name of one of Veigar's spells, which causes a meteor to fall.
84	* In the ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' games, dark matter is a material that cannot be moved by force or gravity. It's used to suspend other materials for easier level design.
85	* In ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime Metroid Prime 2: Echoes]]'', Samus's Dark Beam fires blasts of dark matter.
86	* Dark matter is featured in the MMO ''VideoGame/{{Ogame}}'' as the in-game currency. It can be bought with real money and is often found when you send ships in expedition missions.
87	* The Dark Matter Gun from ''VideoGame/QuakeIV''. It fires {{Unrealistic Black Hole}}s.
88	* In ''VideoGame/SpiralKnights'', dark matter is one of five forms of minerals used to level [[{{Mon}} Battle Sprites]].
89	* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', dark matter is a rare strategic resource found near black holes. It can be used to craft the final tier of spaceship components, but you must first reverse-engineer them by defeating a [[{{Precursor}} Fallen Empire]] ship in battle.
90	* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', dark matter exists as a form of GrimyWater that causes Mario and Luigi to instantly disintegrate upon falling into it. It's also capable of warping reality, creating holes in space that will cause you to fall off platforms moving through the stuff if you don't jump over them.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Webcomics]]
94	* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has a whole story arc about a race of beings from Andromeda made of "dark matter", with which the Milky Way galaxy is currently at war. Other than the whole being alive thing they're [[ShownTheirWork pretty close to how dark matter is believed to actually work]] given that they are invisible, low density enough that they can grow to the size of planets, and interact with the baryonic universe mostly by gravity.
95	* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'': Parodied in [[https://xkcd.com/2186/ "Dark Matter"]] when Megan explains to Cue Ball that [[HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure the Earth contains one squirrel's mass of dark matter at any given time]], and Cue Ball gets SidetrackedByTheAnalogy and starts wondering which squirrel it is.
96	-->'''Megan:''' DARK MATTER ISN'T SQUIRRELS!
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Web Original]]
100	* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
101	** Parodied with [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1212-j SCP-1212-J]] -- it's pointlessly included in the object just because it's cool.
102	** Played straight with [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2460 SCP-2460]] -- the Black Knight satellite is an agglomeration of thousands of normal matter objects that were anomalously converted into dark matter and since they only interact via gravity, phase through each other constantly.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Western Animation]]
106	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': An evil clone of Jimmy Neutron once duplicated the entire planet and everyone on it, but used a "dark matter chip" to turn the whole dupe-Earth into a world of {{Card Carrying Villain}}s. After he snapped the chip in frustration, it unleashed a huge black billowy cloud that began to swallow everything around it.
107	* In ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'', dark matter is used as spaceship coating for StealthInSpace. It also makes humans who come in contact with it extra irritable and aggressive.
108	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', dark matter exists as an oil-like substance and in an extremely dense solid form ([[UnitConfusion 1 pound of it weighs over 10,000 pounds]], according to Professor Farnsworth) defecated by Nibblonians, typically employed as starship fuel. The episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E5TheBirdBotOfIceCatraz The Bird-Bot of Ice-Catraz]]" reveals that the liquid form can induce hyperfertility in animals, in this case, penguins, and even induce [[EggLayingMale egg-laying in males]], which leads to a potential OverpopulationCrisis.
109	* In ''WesternAnimation/LeagueOfSuperEvil'', the most powerful dark matter in the universe is found in the shape of [[StockYuck black licorice]], of all things. Red Menace [[OnlyOneWhoLikesSpam is the only character shown who enjoys the stuff]].
110	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'', dark matter is a PsychoSerum found on the [[EldritchLocation Island of Darkness]] that [[EldritchAbomination the Overlord]] describes as being able to "turn a man's heart as black as night". After using one of the heroes as a guinea pig, he uses bombs filled with the stuff to attack Ninjago City and turn the citizens into berserk thralls.
111	* ''VideoGame/ThePersistence'' gives no clue as to how dark matter can let you apparate from place to place or see heat signatures, but it sounds mysterious enough for it to maintain your WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief.
112	* In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', Rick was kidnapped by Zygerions who made a convoluted scheme to obtain the recipe for concentrated dark matter from him. Rick developed it as a highly potent starship fuel that makes his ship faster than any in the universe. The episode ends with Rick giving them a fake recipe that blew up their ship when they added bottled water to the concoction.
113	[[/folder]]

Context Main / OurDarkMatterIsMysterious