Dark matter may have already been detected with superconducting circuits, according to researchers. Still, the whole thing remains a mystery.

The invisible substance, thought to take up five-sixths of all matter in the universe has been elusive. The scientific consensus is that it is composed of a new type of particle - one that interacts weakly at best with all known forces of the universe, except gravity. Because of that, dark matter is invisible and nearly completely intangible.

Theoretical physicist Christian Beck at Queen Mary University of London suggests much smaller benchtop detectors might be capable of detecting axions, which are leading theoretical candidates for dark matter particles.

Beck calculated that axions could leave behind a detectable electrical signal when they pass through these devices. "This opens up a new way of searching for axions that people haven't thought about before," he said.



If this is true, then dark matter may have already been found - in a 2004 experiment exploring noise levels in S/N/S/ Josephson junctions revealing a signal of unknown origin. Beck detailed his findings online Dec. 2 in the journal Physical Review Letters.

What will the discovery of dark matter lead to?