Using Planck scale oscillators in the background dark energy in a model that parallels the theory of phonons, we deduce the Planck mass, the elementary particle mass scale, the mass of the Universe and a recently discovered residual energy in the cosmic background. We also deduce the Beckenstein temperature formula for black holes. Finally we show that the model explains the four minute time lag in thearrival of gamma photons from a recently observed gamma flare by the MAGIC telescope.

12 pages, tex; Invited talk at the Ninth Intl.Symp. on Frontiers of Fundamental Physics