Bringing balance to the universe: New theory could explain missing 95 percent...

...of the cosmos
https://m.phys.org/news/2018-12-universe...osmos.html

Wouldn't this still have the problem of positing a theoretical substance we have no way of directly measuring or detecting?

Here's a recent illustrative video from Anton Petrov on his YouTube channel " What Da Math" talking about this new hypothesis. It's not to long.
https://youtu.be/0Mix9kQgfG8

This is a good channel to watch if one likes astronomy and cosmology. He uses a program called Universe Sandbox 2

Wouldn't this still have the problem of positing a theoretical substance we have no way of directly measuring or detecting?

Short answer, yes. The longer answer is; yes you are right. Seriously, if this hypothesis turns out to be proven then astophyicists should have a better bead on actually what to look for. Einstein posited what he call "the cosmological constant", something you probably know he called his greatest blunder. Perhaps he wasn't wrong after all.

We can still find out things about such particles from their interaction with positive mass particles... and we might be able to find a way to measure them... obviously a long road ahead... it is only a toy model, but a damn interesting one, and Jamie Farnes ideas do look beautiful...

It's far too early to speculate... but that's what we do on here... if his ideas were shown to be correct... Wow, they probably would produce very profound technological changes in the fullness of time.

But wouldn't this be a step back towards plasma cosmology? My understanding of that theory is that plasmas would make up the supposed empty space in the universe in double layers reacting oppositely of one another.

But wouldn't this be a step back towards plasma cosmology? My understanding of that theory is that plasmas would make up the supposed empty space in the universe in double layers reacting oppositely of one another.

I seriously doubt it. Since it's unknown what Dark Matter is it could be a plasma, but not the type described in plasma theory. But Dark Matter may not be matter at all. Plasma Theory has been cross examined extensively. There's nothing substantial about it. Plasma interacts via the electromagnetic forces to shape large scale cosmological structures according to it's adherents as I recall.