Dark matter at the Winchester Weekend

Congratulations to all involved in organising the excellent Winchester Weekend.                                                                                                                                                                                     

I particularly enjoyed how Prof Carlos Frenk brought some light humour to the mind boggling topics of dark matter, dark energy and the seething non-emptiness of the vacuum of space.                                                          

Prof Frenk is a proponent of the theory of cold dark matter. At breakfast next morning I encountered hot dark matter – the cistern was leaking hot black coffee across the drinks table which then cascaded onto the floor. The dispenser valve had been left open. I closed it immediately and advised the catering staff who cleaned up the mess and placed a slip hazard sign next to the table.                                                                                                                                                                                           

The design of the cistern means this was an accident waiting to happen. Let’s hope this experiment isn’t repeated next year!                                                                                                                                                                     

     Alex.