--- title: "Bizarre Theory: “Mirror-Image Universe” Could Explain Dark Matter" description: "There might be another universe, exactly like our own except that it's a perfect mirror image — and it could explain dark matter." date: "2019-06-05" modified: "2019-06-05" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mirror-image-universe-dark-matter" categories: - "Astrophysics" - "Dark Matter" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "dark matter" - "neutrons" - "the digest" - "universes" --- # Bizarre Theory: “Mirror-Image Universe” Could Explain Dark Matter ![There might be another universe, exactly like our own — except that it's a perfect mirror image. And it could explain dark matter.]() *\Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\* ## Mirror Universe There might be another universe, exactly like our own — except that it's a perfect mirror image. Physicist Leah Broussard is "on the hunt for a universe that is identical to our own, but flipped so that it contains mirror atoms, mirror molecules, mirror stars and planets, and even mirror life," according to a [fascinating *New Scientist* profile]() of Broussard's work. "If it exists, it would form a bubble of reality nestling within the fabric of space and time alongside our own familiar universe, with some particles capable of switching between the two." ## Dark Matter Tantalizingly, the theory could explain [dark matter]() — the hereto-unobserved substance which, based on observations of gravitational effects, scientists believe accounts for much of the matter in the universe. The idea — bolstered, Broussard believes, by experiments with neutrons — is that some particles might be able to phase back and forth between our familiar universe and the mirror-image one. To test that theory, Broussard and colleagues are preparing for an experiment in which they'll fire a beam of neutrons at an impenetrable wall — and then check whether any phased through to the other side. ## Lost World The theory is far out — and admittedly provocative. *New Scientist* even speculated that there "might even be a race of mirror humans trying to work out why their dark matter is five times less abundant than their normal matter." **READ MORE:** [We've seen signs of a mirror-image universe that is touching our own]() \[*New Scientist*\] **More on dark matter:** [When the Large Hadron Collider Turns on, It May Trap Dark Matter]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()