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Scientists have suggested building a network of a billion pendulums that could together finally find dark matter.Despite the fact that dark matters makes up some 27 per cent of the universe – far more than the 5 per cent comprised of the ordinary matter that we can see – it remains almost entirely mysterious. Scientists know that it must exist because of its effects on the universe, but it can only be examined indirectly, and is invisible.But the new research would aim to look for dark matter by looking at the way that its gravity interacts with normal matter. Rather than examining that on the grand scale of the cosmos, they hope to do so by looking for dark matter particles with the mass of a grain of salt.Previous attempts to look for evidence of dark matter on Earth have focused on a particular kind of dark matter known as WIMP, or weakly interacting massive particles. The search has focused on detectors that watch for those particles through collisions with chemicals, which would emit light or electric charge – but no definitive evidence has yet arrived.Now researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, have proposed a new way of seeing them more directly, using the large array of tiny pendulums.Read more”Our proposal relies purely on the gravitational coupling, the only coupling we know for sure that exists between dark matter and ordinary luminous matter,” said study co-author Daniel Carney in a statement.The nature of the research means that if someone were to build the experiment, it would give a reasonably decisive answer to the question of whether dark matter exists as it is speculated. It will either be discovered or not – and if it is not then scientists will be able to “rule out all dark matter candidates over a wide range of possible masses”, said Carney.If researchers were able to. wild a sensor that included a billion tiny mechanical sensors, spread out over a cubic metre, it would be sensitive enough to tell a dark matter particle from an ordinary one or other noise that might be detected in the system. Real dark matter would fly through the array, moving every detector; ordinary particles would just touch one and then stop, and noise would move randomly through the machine.To achieve a similar effect, researchers could also try holding spheres in the air and levitating them using lasers. The lasers would then be switched off, letting the objects fall – passing dark matter particles would have enough gravity to disturb the objects slightly as they dropped down.Similar techniques have already been used successfully to detect gravitational waves. In that case, scientists suspend large mirrors that work like pendulums, moving less than the length of an atom when a gravitational wave passes by.

An iPhone 12 has been seen in real life for the first time, during an appearance on Good Morning America.The new Apple handsets – available in four versions – were unveiled during a livestreamed virtual event from the company’s Apple Park campus this week.Usually, journalists would get their hands on the new phones during a hands-on period following the announcement, allowing the public to see them in the form of videos and photos.But with no real life keynote because of global lockdowns, and the phone being announced in a video produced by Apple, there has not yet been a chance to see the phone in the hands of someone not employed by the company.The first opportunity to do so came on Wednesday when the reporter Becky Worley showed off the phones and introduced their features.It allowed potential customers to see the new blue colours that have arrived with the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro. The company introduced a different version of the colour for each edition of the iPhone, and Ms Worsley demonstrated the look of each on the show.Watch moreThe demonstration is also the first time that the MagSafe features that arrived with the new phones could be shown in use. Ms Worley showed the accessories being snapped on and off the back of the device.In the same segment, Apple’s Kaiann Drance, its vice president of iPhone marketing, appeared on the show to speak about some of the other decisions made in the phone – including the fact that the iPhone 12 will come without charging plugs or earphones in the box.The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro open for pre-orders on 16 October, and go on sale on 23 October. The 12 Mini and 12 Pro Max will not arrive until November.

Sony has revealed the first proper look at what the PlayStation 5 will actually be like to use.A new official video shows the user interface that will greet players when they sign in, and how they will get to games and navigate around.Some important parts of the menus are left off, including the PlayStation Store that players will use to buy games. For the first time, that will represent the only way that some consoles can actually get new titles, since Sony is releasing its first digital-only version of the console, without a disc.But otherwise the video represents a deep-dive into the menus that have remained entirely secret until now.Sony has held more back about its next-generation console than Microsoft, which has revealed in-depth information about its Xbox Series X and Series X, including the menus that will be used to navigate them.And now the new video – titled “First Look at the PlayStation 5 User Experience” – finally gives a look at the software that will power that console.Sony had previously only referenced the design, showing indications during its hardware reveal event but never actually giving a look at the menu.Read moreWhile it borrows some parts from the design of the PS4 – including a flowing design, and menus based around rectangular boxes for each game – it also introduces an entirely new design, including a black and gold colour scheme.The PS5 arrives on 12 November in limited countries including the US, before being released more widely on 19 November in geographies including the UK.

Elon Musk has announced that Tesla is cutting the price of its flagship Model S to $69,420.Musk’s price change is in reference to two things: the first is that American electric car maker Lucid Motors said that its new electric car, the Lucid Air, would cost $77,400 minus a $7,500 tax credit.As Techcrunch reports, most buyers qualify for this tax credit, thereby lowering the car’s price to $69,900 and taking it below the price of the Model S.“The gauntlet has been thrown down! The prophecy will be fulfilled,” Musk tweeted.The Model S price’s second reference is a joke; the number “69” is a reference to a sexual position, while “420” is a reference to cannabis culture.Watch moreMusk has made similar jokes with Tesla products, and stock, before.The price had no basis, according to regulators, and caused market fluctuations – raising shares in the company by 11 per cent, but also resulting in a $20m (£15.5m) fine by the US Securities and Exchange Commissions, which Musk said was “worth it”.This year, Tesla also launched a pair of expensive shorts as a means for CEO Elon Musk to taunt short-sellers, priced at $69.420. The Lucid Air poses strong competition to the Model S. It has 480 horsepower and the potential to travel 653 kilometers (406 miles) on a single charge – approximately six kilometres (four miles) longer than the Model S Long Range Plus, according to the Verge.However, that vehicle will not be available until 2022.Musk had criticised the Lucid Air on Twitter, saying that former lead engineer on the Model S and current Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson “didn’t design Model S.”“Prototype was done before he joined & he left us in the lurch just as things got tough, which was not cool. He did make some contributions to body/chassis engineering, but not to powertrain, battery, electronics or software”, Musk tweeted.Tesla’s Model S cars have been reduced in price for some time, as well as experiencing lower sales.Electrek reports  that the Tesla Model S Long Range Plus decreased in price from $79,990 to $74,990 in May, and was decreased again more recently to its current price of $71,990.Similarly, the Tesla Model S Performance’s price dropped from $94,990 to $91,990.