Airdate: The Mystery of Dark Energy

This BBC Horizon doco, The Mystery of Dark Energy, examines how astrophysicists and cosmologists might affect Einstein’s 100-year-old Theory of General Relativity

Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity is still one of the pillars of modern physics.

But 100 years after Einstein’s theory, there’s something that seems to undermine everything – Dark Energy.

People have always been fascinated by the skies above – and beyond – them: the moon, stars and deep space. Einstein sought to explain the workings of the entire cosmos. And for the last hundred years, it seemed to be the answer. Now, Einstein’s theory is under threat.

Dark Energy is a mysterious cosmic force, not only causing the universe to expand, but this expansion is also accelerating. Today, it’s accepted that whatever generates Dark Energy makes up around 70 percent of the universe. But no one can see it, and there’s still great debate over what it actually is.

Today’s astrophysicists and cosmologists are all on a huge quest to gather more data. This film examines how their work might affect Einstein’s 100-year-old theory. Ultimately, however, Dark Energy has thrown scientific knowledge up into the air.

BBC’s Horizon examines whether today’s investigations will help finally solve the mystery of how the universe actually works.

Monday, 1 August at 9.30pm on SBS