2 ms·
Yes but how do we know what the numbers could have been? It's not like we have a generating theory that says it had to be between a and b, and thus it being x i
by lordnacho 6y ago
Yes but how do we know what the numbers could have been? It's not like we have a generating theory that says it had to be between a and b, and thus it being x is really unlikely.
- at_a_remove 6y agoAh, okay, that's a different question. Aside from common sense ("this being negative would be self-contradicting") for a given number and sets of inter-relations, that's out of my wheelhouse. I very dimly recollect some work on allowable sets of constants somewhere in the nineties, something to do with superstrings, but that was never a huge interest of mine. I will admit that such a generating theory may exist and I am just unaware of it. In some sense, each constant represents a bit of embarrassment to physics. Having this rather large set of adjustable parameters calls to mind the von Neumann quote "With four parameters I can fit an elephant, and with five I can make him wiggle his trunk." Why this seemingly arbitrary number? Can we take multiple constants and find some smaller set from which they are derived? Can I make a constant emerge from a physical law, devoid of measurement?