Countertop Dark Matter

For at least 5 decades, physicists and astronomers have been puzzled by a series of strange observations in the universe. These observations suggest that there exists a substance that is about 5 times more abundant than all the matter that we can see. Scientists aptly call this ‘dark’ matter, "dark matter."

Many elaborate experiments have been performed, yet, so far, dark matter eludes us. It is possible that we’ve been looking for the wrong kind of object—dark matter may not be individual particles, but rather massive agglomerations of many particles, similar to how much of ordinary matter is found in stars and planets. We dub these agglomerates, “macros.”

If macros are out there in space, through which Earth is moving much faster than a bullet, might we be able to see their effects on everyday objects with the naked eye? The answer is maybe: we need your help to find out. Macros may have interactions with ordinary matter, such as the Earth's crust. These interactions would occur only very rarely, due to macros’ high masses and resulting scarcity, however rocks last for a very long time, so if we can examine them carefully, we might find evidence of a passing macro.

We are a research group at Case Western Reserve University looking for macros by visually inspecting granite slabs—the same ones that are used for countertops! We need your help to search for a substance that has evaded detection for decades and to see if maybe—just maybe—it is hiding in plain sight.