h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Why is it that present day physicists (apparently) routinely deduct the effects of the Zero Point Field (miniscule oscillations in "empty" space) from quantum mechanical calculations? What does this tell us about our scientists? Do they deliberately ignore an observed fact, simply because it doesn't fit into their present theories?

Is it possible that including this equation in their calculations could provide an explanation for so-called "dark matter"?

I have no idea what you are talking about, but apart from dark matter there also seems to be dark energy. How does that fit into your calculations?

I think the Zero Point Field is another term for the cosmological constant, dark energy or quintessence. These names all have different meanings, but they basically all refer to the intrinsic density of vacuum space. Current experiments seem to support theories suggesting 70% of the density of the universe is made up of dark energy, and 30% by dark matter and ordinary matter. Within the galaxy, we still predict ~95% of its mass is dark matter. Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/F78007?thread=146229 Dark energy can't solve the dark matter problem alone. It now seem most likely that a combination of different candidates are needed to explain observations. On very large scales, dark energy and neutrinos; and within the galaxy, WIMPs. As both experiments and theories can be wrong, neither is believed until backed up by extensive research. The reason dark matter and the WIMP hypothesis is so popular is that computer simulations of galaxy evolution match observations very well, and it fits other theories in particle physics.