




Evolving Constants
A universal constant on the move
Is the proton losing weight, or has the fabric of the Universe changed?
Mark Peplow (Nature.com)


| How heavy is a proton compared to an electron? The answer seems to have changed over the past 12 billion years. © Punchstock |
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It seems that nothing stays the same: not even the 'constants' of physics. An experiment suggests that the mass ratio of two fundamental subatomic particles has decreased over the past 12 billion years, for no apparent reason.
The startling finding comes from a team of scientists who have calculated exactly how much heavier a proton is than an electron. For most purposes, it is about 1,836 times heavier. But dig down a few decimal places and the team claims that this value has changed over time.
The researchers admit that they are only about 99.7% sure of their result, which physicists reckon is a little better than 'evidence for' but not nearly an 'observation of' the effect. If confirmed, however, the discovery could rewrite our understanding of the forces that make our Universe tick.
Fickle forces
This is not the first time physicists have suspected physical constants of inconstancy.

~There is no God and we are his prophets.~
-Cormac McCarthy-
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Man is superior to the stars if he lives in the power of superior wisdom. Such a person being the master over heaven and earth by means of his will is a magus and magic is not sorcery but supreme wisdom
-Paracelsus-



2 Comments:
Apparently Schumann resonance is changing, too... Time is speeding up... I was going to say "literally, not metaphorically", but I suspect opposition of those two words have little value when talking about quantum physics.
Define time.
?
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