A group of theoretical physicists from France and Mexico has offered a fun new what-if for dark energy, one of physics' most profound outstanding mysteries. As described in the current Physical Review Letters, this proposed solution involves violating a key principle in our most basic understanding of fundamental physics: the conservation of energy. In this new framework, dark energy just represents the sum total of many tiny leaks of non-conserved energy spread throughout the universe. It's a bit weird. To recap, the law of conservation of energy states that energy in an isolated system can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms. Chemical energy turns to electrical energy in a battery; kinetic energy turns to thermal energy via friction; potential energy turns to kinetic energy as the skydiver leaves the plane. Both old-school Newtonian physics and relatively new-school relativity depend on this law.

 

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