An ultra-precise measurement of a transition in the hearts of thorium atoms gives physicists a tool to probe the forces that bind the universe.
An ultra-precise measurement of a transition in the hearts of thorium atoms gives physicists a tool to probe the forces that bind the universe.
So what if constants aren’t constants?
I imagine a few physicists will be a little upset.
Except the one who gets the Nobel Prize for proving it
Eh, theorists just work in units where they’re all 1 anyway. And experimentalists round to to the nearest order of magnitude lol
They will be called “variables” in the future, and scientists will try to figure out how they tick. And: They were seen as constants for a sufficientyl long time, so still treating them like constants won’t hurt, as the value will probably only vary over long reaches of time or unlikely/uncommon circumstances like relativistic speeds.
We treat g = 9.81m/s², well knowing that this changes depending on height and location. But this value is totally sufficient for everyday purposes, and no bridge will ever collapse just because of local derivations from 9.81. The precise local value of g is only of relevance for a very small range of applications.
In math context, we’d just call it variable and move on.