Re:Ummm... explanation?
by
krlynch
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
The FSC is a measure of the strength of the electromagnetic interaction, or if you will, the charge on the electron. alpha = e^2/(4 pi hbar c) in Gaussian units (I think... in any case, in the "correct" units:-) As such, alpha (along with the proton and electron masses) determines everything about chemical reactions (binding energies, reaction rates, etc), about the spectroscopic properties of elements (the absorption and emission spectra), about the behavior of semiconductors, the behavior of particle accelerators, etc. It is one of the most important fundamental "constants" in particle physics. And there has been recent data which suggests pursuasively that alpha is in fact NOT constant in time, but has changed since the very early universe.
Slashdot Mirror
The FSC is a measure of the strength of the electromagnetic interaction, or if you will, the charge on the electron. alpha = e^2/(4 pi hbar c) in Gaussian units (I think... in any case, in the "correct" units :-) As such, alpha (along with the proton and electron masses) determines everything about chemical reactions (binding energies, reaction rates, etc), about the spectroscopic properties of elements (the absorption and emission spectra), about the behavior of semiconductors, the behavior of particle accelerators, etc. It is one of the most important fundamental "constants" in particle physics. And there has been recent data which suggests pursuasively that alpha is in fact NOT constant in time, but has changed since the very early universe.