• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    9
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    [The Fine-structure Constant] quantifies the strength of the electromagnetic interaction between elementary charged particles.

    Why the constant should have this value is not understood, but there are a number of ways to measure its value.

    Sounds like we know what it is, we just don’t know the reason for its value. (Edit: Unless I’m misunderstanding what you mean)

    Wikipedia link

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      61 year ago

      The strangeness of the Fine Structure Constant isn’t it’s value, it’s that we don’t know what it is.

      Other constants have units that explain what they are doing. Like converting miles to meters we multiply by meters/miles. But this is just a number that is needed. That’s so strange I can’t think of another example.

      • @xantoxis
        link
        English
        11 year ago

        deleted by creator

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          21 year ago

          I feel like this might be another example of OPs meme. Feyman called it a magic number we have no understanding of. It’s one of the great mysteries of modern physics.