One of physics’ most fundamental constants just got a little more… constant.
Physicists have placed the strictest limit yet on how much the fine structure constant — which determines how strongly electrically charged objects interact — could change with the density of nearby matter.
The fine structure constant, also known as alpha, has long been both essential and confounding to physicists. It was introduced in 1916 to describe the strength of the electromagnetic force, which governs how charged objects interact and how molecules form. From there, the constant worked its way into important quantum mechanical equations. “It pops up all of the time in all of our theories,” says Michael Tarbutt, an Imperial College London physicist who led the study. However, physicists know of no fundamental reason why alpha has the value it does. (1)
Things in life change. You cannot enter into the same river twice. And yet science will tell you that you can…
We are too afraid to live without any constants dictating our lifes…
