Dark energy ‘chameleon trap’ wins £100,000 prize for Nottingham scientist 

Ingeniously simple lab experiment led by Prof Clare Burrage recognised by Blavatnik awards. Dark energy is the enigma at the heart of modern physics: the universe is supposed to be awash with the stuff, but it has never been seen and its nature is unknown. When faced with a mystery of such epic proportions, simply eliminating certain options is considered a success. This week such an advance, using an ingeniously simple desktop experiment, was recognised by the prestigious Blavatnik award for young scientists. Prof Clare Burrage, of the University of Nottingham and recipient of the £100,000 prize, said: “We don’t know what dark energy is. It’s the name we give to something we don’t understand so we can start talking about it. And when so little is known, even ruling things out feels like big progress.”