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Are the Constants of Physics Constant?
Scientific American ^
| 7 Mar, 2016
| Venkat Srinivasan
Posted on 03/09/2016 6:07:00 PM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber
2
posted on
03/09/2016 6:07:35 PM PST
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
The science is settled. Once “scientists” form a consensus that’s the end of debate.
To: MtnClimber
I would venture to say no, the constants of physics do not remain ‘constant’ or unchanging.The physical conditions of measuring or defining any particular condition are subjective, even when performed by computers. We have to agree with certain generalities in most cases.
To: Organic Panic
“The science is settled. Once scientists form a consensus thats the end of debate.”
:)
5
posted on
03/09/2016 6:20:52 PM PST
by
ifinnegan
(Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
To: MtnClimber
Have they checked Fidel Castro’s brain (Who may not still be dead)
6
posted on
03/09/2016 6:22:58 PM PST
by
frithguild
(The warmth and goodness of Gaia is a nuclear reactor in the Earth's core that burns Thorium)
To: MtnClimber
As a mere point of interest --
One of the traditional hallmarks of western science is its basis in Christian faith. God is good, and rational and unchanging. Therefore, we can study God's creation and use consistent methods to achieve consistent results.
Whether constants are truly constant may be a fair question, but the belief that nature is inherently consistent has helped us built the modern world.
Islam, on the other hand, believes that Allah is unbound by such petty concerns. If a human expects water to boil at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level, then this is "shackling Allah" and is not a good idea. Allah does what Allah wants to do. Of course the Arab world has done some work in science (but most of "their work" was actually taken from the Greeks or from Indians (or Chaldeans). But this notion that the world of Allah is unpredictable has not helped the Muslims.
To: MtnClimber
Believe it or not. Grandfather of singer Olivia Newton-John
8
posted on
03/09/2016 6:25:59 PM PST
by
BigEdLB
(Take it Easy, Chuck. I'm Not Taking it Back -- Donald Trump)
To: MtnClimber
To: BigEdLB
Wow! That is amazing!
I would have guessed her to be the granddaughter of Sir Isaac Newton-John!
To: Organic Panic
and simultaneously they end being scientists
11
posted on
03/09/2016 6:37:06 PM PST
by
Chode
(Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY - Luke, 22:36)
To: Bartholomew Roberts
She said she only met him one time, but her family moved to Australia when she was 7, because her father accepted a professor job on Melbourne.
12
posted on
03/09/2016 6:38:34 PM PST
by
BigEdLB
(Take it Easy, Chuck. I'm Not Taking it Back -- Donald Trump)
To: MtnClimber
You’ll only know if you can measure it.
13
posted on
03/09/2016 6:39:37 PM PST
by
smokingfrog
( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
To: MtnClimber
Assumes we live in a ‘time invariant’ universe. If time is not a constant, nothing else is ... Just sayin ...
14
posted on
03/09/2016 6:42:26 PM PST
by
11th_VA
(It's all gonna change once Trump's president)
To: MtnClimber; lee martell
What Born and so many others were after was a unifying theory that would demonstrate that there could only be one unchanging value for a constant. Without this theory, scientists resort to testing limits of a constant. Measuring the constant is a good way to verify that theories using them make sense, that science stands on firm ground. Error from the measurements can be a huge concern. So, instead of validating the masses of protons and electrons, it's useful to measure the ratio of their masses, a number that is free of the burden of units. The search for a unifying theory continued..........
***
I was able to keep up until right here....but I could have followed along better if there was something --like a trail of zircons to follow which could lead to some kind of a corresponding result.
Lee, I think you're conclusion is far closer then what I surmised:
"The physical conditions of measuring or defining any particular condition are subjective, even when performed by computers. We have to agree with certain generalities in most cases."
15
posted on
03/09/2016 6:43:16 PM PST
by
Mr Apple
( COULTER on Hillary defending child rapist Thomas Taylor www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdkTqkLbL_4)
To: lee martell
The constants probably are, but the human capacity for determining them is not. Therefore, the VALUES associated with those constants change, not because they themselves are changing but because we, the observers, are.
Which I realize is a bit Zen ...
16
posted on
03/09/2016 6:47:19 PM PST
by
IronJack
To: MtnClimber
I’ve often wondered about the implications of the speed of light slowing over many millions of years. The distance scale of the universe would be profoundly affected.
17
posted on
03/09/2016 6:47:41 PM PST
by
beethovenfan
(Islam is a cancer on civilization.)
To: IronJack
Increasing precision, that's all.
Now, if the constants ever *do* vary, there goes the weak anthropic principle and the need for the "many universes" (which is not the Everett "many worlds" hypothesis, btw). I read an article by the atheist Larry Krause where he admitted to another atheist that the "many universes" idea was attractive mainly because it eliminated the embarrassment of the weak anthropic principle.
18
posted on
03/09/2016 6:53:01 PM PST
by
grey_whiskers
(The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
To: beethovenfan
As an aside, I've always, always wondered that if, for example, one could shoot an arrow -and it could keep going out of our solar system, and continue on traveling, on and on -- --
where would it Stop? What would it eventually hit??? Can anyone answer this???
19
posted on
03/09/2016 6:59:50 PM PST
by
Mr Apple
( COULTER on Hillary defending child rapist Thomas Taylor www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdkTqkLbL_4)
20
posted on
03/09/2016 7:00:09 PM PST
by
Mr Apple
( COULTER on Hillary defending child rapist Thomas Taylor www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdkTqkLbL_4)
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