Question: what is the universe made of

Mark Kennedy answered on 10 Nov 2016:

It’s made up of 4 things.

The first, and most important thing, is matter. Matter is everything that makes up you and me. Anything that’s built out of protons and electrons (you, the desk, this computer, the walls, all the Earth, the Sun, every star in the Galaxy, every star in every galaxy in the Universe) is made up of matter.

All of that makes up 4.9% of the Universe. Everything single thing you can see on Earth and in the night sky. Only 4.9%!!

So what’s every thing else?

Well, dark matter is a big candidate for the next 26.8% of the Universe. Dark matter is (as it suggests) matter that we cannot see, but does have a gravitational effect on the Universe. For example, if there was a big blob of dark matter right beside you, you wouldn’t be able to see it, but you would be attracted to it. We have a few ideas about what dark matter might be, but whoever really figures out what it is is due a Nobel Prize.

Finally, the last 72% of the Universe is something we call dark energy. We have no idea what this is, and have no way to directly detect it, but we do know it’s there because it’s causing the Universe to expand at an accelerating rate! Again, the person who figures out dark energy will be due a Nobel Prize.