How do you find a theoretical particle?

How do you detect a particle that emits no light - in other words, something invisible? This is the intriguing challenge faced by scientists hunting for 'dark matter'. In our series finale, we talk to Elizabeth Bloomfield from Oxford's Department of Physics about dark matter, how we know it exists, and why her research is taking her deep beneath a mountain in Italy in the quest to find it.

You can listen to How do you find a theoretical particle? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How do you find a theoretical particle? is an episode from Oxford Sparks Big Questions by Fiona Jones.

This episode is 12:15 long.

This episode was published on Aug 6, 2025.

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