dark energy

[ dahrk en-er-jee ]

noun

1. a hypothetical form of energy whose negative pressure counteracts gravity and is assumed to be responsible for the universe expanding at an accelerating rate.

dark energy

1. A form of energy hypothesized to reside in the structure of space itself, responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe. Dark energy theoretically counterbalances the kinetic energy of the universe's expansion, entailing that that the universe has no inherent curvature, as astronomical observations currently suggest. Dark energy appears to account for 73 percent of all the energy and matter in the universe.
2. See also big bang

dark energy

1. An as yet unknown and unidentified form of energy that pervades the universe and produces a force that counteracts the gravitational attraction between galaxies .

Notes

Dark energy is thought to be responsible for the accelerating universe .

Word History and Origins

Origin of dark energy¹

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

These missing parts consist of dark matter and dark energy, both equally mysterious forms of new physics.

From Quanta Magazine

It will be used to map small objects that are far away and probe for dark matter and dark energy.

From MIT Technology Review

This is the concept of dark energy, and it points to something that we are missing in our description of the universe.

From Quanta Magazine

Currently, the only way we can feel the presence of dark energy is with observations of the distant universe.

From Singularity Hub 

If you have a kind of dark energy where the energy density is not constant, but is increasing over time, then — then you get this, this thing called phantom dark energy.

From Quanta Magazine

We want to know if dark energy has always been this way, or if it has changed over history—and if it will stay the same forever.

From The Daily Beast

We hope to see signs of what is to come by looking at how dark energy behaves now, and how it has acted in the past.

From The Daily Beast

Not only that, but the rate of expansion is getting faster, a phenomenon we call “dark energy.”

From The Daily Beast

From what we can tell, the total amount of dark energy seems to increase as the Universe expands.

From The Daily Beast

If dark energy comes and goes, though, maybe the rate of expansion will slow down again.

From The Daily Beast