Linked Questions

3 votes
1 answer
428 views

Why is the gravitational constant.. constant? [duplicate]

Many scientists have now come to the conclusion that a big bang might not explain the 'start' of the universe and are coming up with alternatives. Could it be that gravity is dependent on the ...
Daniel Piggott's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
470 views

How do we know that fundamental constants don't slowly change in time? [duplicate]

Let me get one thing straight first. I am not saying that fundamental constants like the speed of light don't have the value that we know they have today. What I am asking is whether the value of a ...
TheQuantumMan's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
113 views

How do we know that the speed of light is constant everywhere, not just here? [duplicate]

It might well be that universal constants, say the speed of light, are only constant as far as we can tell in our chunk of the universe - in the same way that the Earth looks flat in the area you live....
Arnaud Mortier's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
105 views

Which experiment would be able to detect change in the speed of light? [duplicate]

Since the unit of distance is defined in terms of speed of light in vacuum, if the speed of light in vacuum were to change by "magic", what experiment would be able to detect that? Is there a theory ...
user13107's user avatar
  • 657
1 vote
0 answers
64 views

Expansion of the universe & laws of physics [duplicate]

Does the expansion of the universe have an effect on the laws of physics, or the constants used in physics? If we were to imagine the universe 40 billion years later, would the same laws still apply?
Skkk's user avatar
  • 69
0 votes
0 answers
26 views

Is the Gravitational Constant $G$ really a Constant? [duplicate]

I'm a mere chemist, so I'm figuratively typing and ducking, as I ask this, but:- If Dark Energy is increasing, then could this not be explained by the Gravitational Constant $G$ not being constant, ...
Philip John Frederick Sims's user avatar
75 votes
7 answers
9k views

Is the Boltzmann constant really that important?

I read a book in which one chapter gave a speech about the fundamental constants of the Universe, and I remember it stated this: If the mass of an electron, the Planck constant, the speed of light, ...
Les Adieux's user avatar
  • 3,705
56 votes
3 answers
8k views

Why should the Planck constant be a constant throughout all space?

Our value for the Planck constant $h$ can be found on experiments on Earth, but how do we know that the Planck constant doesn't change throughout space, for instance it depends weakly upon the ...
QCD_IS_GOOD's user avatar
  • 6,735
34 votes
8 answers
9k views

Do the laws of physics evolve?

Hubble's constant $a(t)$ appears to be changing over time. The fine stucture constant $\alpha$, like many others in QFT, is a running constant that varies, proportional to energy being used to measure ...
qftme's user avatar
  • 1,810
15 votes
3 answers
4k views

Could Planck's constant be changing?

Has the true value of Planck's constant always been a constant? As we progress we can get a more accurate measurement of the constant, but I would like to know if anyone has ever thought about the ...
therr's user avatar
  • 177
21 votes
3 answers
6k views

Why do universal constants have the values they do?

This is meant to be a generic question of the type that we get repeatedly on this site, in different versions: The origin of the value of speed of light The gravitational constant G theoretically? ...
user avatar
16 votes
5 answers
2k views

units and nature

I am wondering whether the five$^1$ units of the natural unit system really is dictated by nature, or invented to satisfy the limited mind of man? Is the number of linearly independent units a ...
hpekristiansen's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
7k views

The famous drop of $c$

In this (in my opinion) intriguing speech, Rupert Sheldrake tells the story of the drop in the measured value of $c$ between 1928 and 1945. When he goes to visit the Head of Metrology of the Physics ...
usumdelphini's user avatar
  • 1,793
3 votes
2 answers
4k views

Changes in Water Bonding Angle

I heard something recently in a casual discussion, but have yet to be able to confirm it: is there any evidence that the bonding angle for a water molecule, currently defined as 104.5, has been either ...
user20904's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is the Fine Stucture constant constant?

I have read that the fine structure constant may well not be a constant. Now, if this were to be true, what would be the effect of a higher or lower value? (and why?)
adustduke's user avatar
  • 793

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