Posted on 02/20/2016 2:09:29 PM PST by MtnClimber
"God is a pure mathematician!" declared British astronomer Sir James Jeans. The physical Universe does seem to be organised around elegant mathematical relationships. And one number above all others has exercised an enduring fascination for physicists: 137.03599913.
Let me explain. When scientists measure any quantity they must specify the units being used. The speed of light, for example, is either 186,000 or 300,000 depending on whether it is expressed as miles per second or kilometres per second. Likewise your weight might be 150 or 68 according to whether you are measuring in pounds or kilograms. Without knowing the units being used the number is meaningless - unless it is a pure number.
The best known example of a pure number comes from combining three of nature's most fundamental quantities: the speed of light, the electric charge carried by a single electron and Planck's constant of quantum mechanics. In symbols, that's c, e and h. Put them together as follows, hc/2Ï€e2, and the units of c, e and h cancel out to leave a pure number, 137.03599913. If c, e and h were measured by Vulcan scientists using Vulcan units, they would still get 137.03599913. This curious number is therefore a universal constant of nature - "God given" Jeans might have said.
In view of its importance, hc/2πe2 has acquired a name and a symbol all of its own. For historical reasons the inverse, 2πe2/hc = 1/137.03599913, is used. It is known as the fine-structure constant and is denoted by the Greek letter alpha (α).
(Excerpt) Read more at cosmosmagazine.com ...
Yeah, but then you have to remember where to insert the decimal place! What a bunch of useless rubbish.
I don't care if ¿Jeb? said to, I'm *still* gonna clap!
Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” entire poem is a mnemonic for pi to the first 740 places... Here are the first 80...
Poe, E.: Near a Raven. Midnights so dreary, tired and weary.
Silently pondering volumes extolling all by-now obsolete lore.
During my rather long nap-the weirdest tap!
An ominous vibrating sound disturbing my chamber’s antedoor.
‘This,’ I whispered quietly, ‘I ignore.’
Perfectly, the intellect remembers: the ghostly fires, a glittering ember.
Inflamed by lightning’s outbursts, windows cast penumbras upon this floor.
Sorrowful, as one mistreated, unhappy thoughts I heeded:
That inimitable lesson in elegance—Lenore—
Is delighting, exciting... nevermore.
I’ll be darned. I had no idea.
From your link ... the above poem is not by Poe, but is based on his poem.
My mistake... I misread the page... THANKS!
That’s neat! Thank you.
Is not π
bump for later
Is that the Fibonacci Sequence?
Arg. That’s supposed to be the symbol for Pi
1.67 feet is the distance one knot travels in one second, basically.
It is somewhat golden.
Yes.
As I recall,
pi = 4 - 4/3 + 4/5 - 4/7 + 4/9 - 4/11....
it converges very slowly.
Actually, the chance of Planck’s Constant being what it is, is 100%. If it were any other value, no one would be around to measure it.
I think you are looking for Phi:
1·61803 39887 49894 84820 45868 34365 63811 77203 09179 ...
Otherwise known as the golden section...
Multiply by 137.03599913
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