5 ms·
What’s to say any two oscillations of the atom are the same length?
by kingkawn 5y ago
What’s to say any two oscillations of the atom are the same length?
- CamperBob2 5y agoIt has to do with the assumed constancy of the so-called "fine structure constant." Google that for more info. TL,DR: the only way these atomic resonant frequencies can possibly change is if the fine structure constant varies from place to place, or over time. If that turns out to be the case, the discovery will invalidate, or at least upset, the last 100 years worth of physics and cosmology. It's all but unthinkable.
- kingkawn 5y agoSounds exciting
- taejo 5y agoYou might be interested in the book Inventing Temperature by Hasok Chang which looks at similar questions but for temperature instead of time, both historically and philosophically. For example, you can define a temperature scale using the boiling point of water, but how do you know water always boils at the same temperature without a temperature scale? (And of course, it doesn't -- even at constant pressure, liquid water can exceed 100°C without boiling)