All change in the universe?

[tom_hobbes]

<font color="yellow">Another fundamental constant accused of changing</font><br /><br />13:55 21 April 2006, NewScientist.com news service, Amarendra Swarup<br /><br /><br />Cosmologists claim to have found evidence that yet another fundamental constant of nature, called mu, may have changed over the last 12 billion years. If confirmed, the result could force some physicists to radically rethink their theories. It would also provide support for string theory, which predicts extra spatial dimensions.<br /><br />This is not the first time fundamental constants have been accused of changing over the lifetime of the universe. Most famously, there was controversy over the fine structure constant, alpha, which governs how light and electrons interact. Some physicists claimed it is changing while others said it was not...<br /><br />Researchers at the Free University in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the European Southern Observatory in Chile discovered the variation in mu.<br /><br />Read the article. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#339966"> I wish I could remember<br /> But my selective memory<br /> Won't let me</font><font size="2" color="#99cc00"> </font><font size="3" color="#339966"><font size="2">- </font></font><font size="1" color="#339966">Mark Oliver Everett</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[newtonian]

Tom_Hobbes - Thank you for the link. It adds depth to trying to understand how our universe was fined tuned to allow for stars and life to exist.<br /><br />Of course, the evidence is stated to not be conclusive or confirmed enough to overturn standard cosmological assumptions of constants.<br /><br />Mu is stated to be the ratio of the mass of protons to electrons, and is stated to have decreased by .002% in the 12 billion years since the quasars whose spectal analysis lead to this conclusion radiated the light being studied.<br /><br />What does a decrease in this mass ratio mean? That Proton mass has become less and/or electron mass has become greater? <br /><br />Proton mass is currently fine tuned to be 1836 times that of the electron, and this further fine tunes the strong nuclear force - according to the article which I read thanks to your link.<br /><br />Thank you.<br /><br />On fine tuning of the strong nuclear force, and also the weak nuclear force, btw:<br /><br />"The structure of the universe involves much more than fine-tuning just gravity and the electromagnetic force. Two other physical forces also relate to our life.<br /><br />These two forces operate in the nucleus of an atom, and they give ample evidence of forethought. Consider the strong nuclear force, which glues protons and neutrons together in the nucleus of the atom. Because of this bonding, various elements can form—light ones (such as helium and oxygen) and heavy ones (such as gold and lead). It seems that if this binding force were a mere 2-percent weaker, only hydrogen would exist. Conversely, if this force were slightly stronger, only heavier elements, but no hydrogen, could be found. Would our lives be affected? Well, if the universe lacked hydrogen, our sun would not have the fuel it needs to radiate life-giving energy. And, of course, we would have no water or food, since hydrogen is an essential ingredient of both.<br /><br />The fourth force in this discussion, called the weak nuclear force, con

 

[tom_hobbes]

My pleasure. It’s certainly interesting.<br /><br />I can appreciate your point of view, but even without the quest for God's fingerprints across creation it’s still pretty mind blowing that the most basic rules governing, well, everything, may somehow be inconstant, mutable. If this is true, what’s to stop further and more drastic change. Just thinking about it brings me out in existential terrors! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#339966"> I wish I could remember<br /> But my selective memory<br /> Won't let me</font><font size="2" color="#99cc00"> </font><font size="3" color="#339966"><font size="2">- </font></font><font size="1" color="#339966">Mark Oliver Everett</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[vogon13]

As the strength of the weak force varies (if it could) the size (mass actually) of an appropriate star for earth would change. <br /><br />But for reasonable values for the force, earth could exist somewhere.<br /><br />{google 'weak anthropic arguement' for what we are really discussing here}<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>