58
R. Barrett and P. P. Delsanto
The speed of light c is ubiquitous in physics; it appears in innumerable
formulas in physics textbooks. Over the period 1928 to 1945, the measured
speed of light fell steadily by an amount that was outside the bounds of
quoted experimental errors. Then in the late nineteen-forties new measurements were made that were in better agreement with the 1928 measurements.
Had there perhaps been a cyclic change in c over this time period? Most
physicists believe not, and ascribe the result to a self-censorship process by
experimenters. Measurements too far from the currently accepted value tend
to be treated as statistical flukes and discarded. However, the possibility of
a variable speed of light has been raised in alternative models of the early
history of the Universe. We shall discuss this issue further in Chap. 11.
The long-term variability of other physical constants, e.g. Planck’s
Constant (see Chap. 5) and the electronic charge, has also been suggested.
The question of whether the Fine Structure Constant α is varying now, or
has changed in the past, is an active research field (see Appendix 3.6). Clearly
these investigations have important implications for cosmological theories.
However, it will take very convincing observational data to persuade physicists to abandon the assumption of constancy in the physical laws and their
associated fundamental constants, partly because of Occam’s Razor, but also
because once the laws and constants are allowed to change, anything goes. It
is very difficult to put observational constraints on what occurs in another
part of the Universe or in the very distant past and future.
If Occam’s Razor is invoked in some areas of physics in a search for
simplicity, in others it appears to have been completely disregarded by the
specialists. So we have the scenario of multiverses, where at every instant the
future timeline of the Universe splits into an infinite number of possibilities.
Another theory requires that space–time comprise eleven dimensions, while
in Cosmology the presence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy would imply
that 95% of the Universe is unknown. As we progress through this book,
we will return to these proposals in more detail. One can only imagine what
Einstein’s reaction would have been to some of them.
References
1. Miller H (1964) On writing. New Directions Publishing Company, p 25
2. Hardy GH (1940) A mathematician’s apology. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge
3. Singh S (2005) Fermat’s last theorem. Harper Perennial
4. Born M, Einstein A, Born-Einstein Letters, 1916–1955, Letter No. 48
R. Barrett and P. P. Delsanto
The speed of light c is ubiquitous in physics; it appears in innumerable
formulas in physics textbooks. Over the period 1928 to 1945, the measured
speed of light fell steadily by an amount that was outside the bounds of
quoted experimental errors. Then in the late nineteen-forties new measurements were made that were in better agreement with the 1928 measurements.
Had there perhaps been a cyclic change in c over this time period? Most
physicists believe not, and ascribe the result to a self-censorship process by
experimenters. Measurements too far from the currently accepted value tend
to be treated as statistical flukes and discarded. However, the possibility of
a variable speed of light has been raised in alternative models of the early
history of the Universe. We shall discuss this issue further in Chap. 11.
The long-term variability of other physical constants, e.g. Planck’s
Constant (see Chap. 5) and the electronic charge, has also been suggested.
The question of whether the Fine Structure Constant α is varying now, or
has changed in the past, is an active research field (see Appendix 3.6). Clearly
these investigations have important implications for cosmological theories.
However, it will take very convincing observational data to persuade physicists to abandon the assumption of constancy in the physical laws and their
associated fundamental constants, partly because of Occam’s Razor, but also
because once the laws and constants are allowed to change, anything goes. It
is very difficult to put observational constraints on what occurs in another
part of the Universe or in the very distant past and future.
If Occam’s Razor is invoked in some areas of physics in a search for
simplicity, in others it appears to have been completely disregarded by the
specialists. So we have the scenario of multiverses, where at every instant the
future timeline of the Universe splits into an infinite number of possibilities.
Another theory requires that space–time comprise eleven dimensions, while
in Cosmology the presence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy would imply
that 95% of the Universe is unknown. As we progress through this book,
we will return to these proposals in more detail. One can only imagine what
Einstein’s reaction would have been to some of them.
References
1. Miller H (1964) On writing. New Directions Publishing Company, p 25
2. Hardy GH (1940) A mathematician’s apology. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge
3. Singh S (2005) Fermat’s last theorem. Harper Perennial
4. Born M, Einstein A, Born-Einstein Letters, 1916–1955, Letter No. 48