The MYSTERIOUS NUMBER that Shaped our Universe! Fine Structure Constant
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- Опубликовано: 5 май 2024
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References:
Textbook chapter on Fine Structure: t.ly/PLM4
Sommerfeld's original paper: t.ly/qrAF
Good Wiki description: t.ly/f4iK
Chapters:
0:00 - Historical context of Fine Structure Constant
2:54 - What is the interpretation of Fine Structure Constant?
4:25 - How is alpha useful?
6:44 - How Arnold Sommerfeld found it
10:04 - How is alpha measured?
10:36 - Why is 1/137 significant?
12:40 - Where did fine structure constant come from?
13:50 - Fine Structure constant is NOT constant!
Summary:
This constant represented by the Greek letter alpha is just a dimensionless number, so no matter what units you use, it will always have the same value, about 1/137. If it was different by just 4%, life may not exist. What is the Fine Structure Constant? What does it mean? And why is it important?
At one time it was believed to be exactly 1/137, but today we have measured it more precisely, and it is not exactly that. it is now one of the most precisely measured constants. There is more than one way to interpret it. It is the ratio of the energy needed to overcome the electrostatic repulsion of two electrons, and the energy of a photon with the wavelength lambda λ.
The simplest way to think of it is the ration of the speed of an electron in a classical orbit to the speed of light. In other words, the speed of an electron orbiting an atom is about 1/137th the speed of light.
The number is directly related to the strength of the electromagnetic force. The higher the value, the greater the strength of attraction between an electron and a proton, and, the greater the repulsion between two of the same charges. One way to think of the fine structure constant is like coulomb’s constant expressed in dimensionless units.
This constant is found everywhere because in our macro world, the two fundamental forces we directly experience most are gravity and electromagnetism. Since electromagnetism determines chemistry, alpha is critical for life.
In Feynman diagrams, Alpha is related to the probability that an electron will emit or absorb a photon. It was German theoretical physicist, Arnold Sommerfeld who introduced it in 1916 when he was expanding the Bohr model of the atom. Prior to his work, Niels Born's model of the atom failed to explain the observed light emission of atoms. The energy levels appeared to split into two, whereas Bohr's model only predicted one. Those additional levels were very close to each other. But they indicated that Bohr’s model was incomplete. Sommerfeld was able to show that there is finer structure to the atom, that it has sub-orbitals.
Alpha can be measured experimentally at cyclotron accelerators by accelerating an electron in a magnetic field, and measuring its magnetic moment. The electron acts like a spinning bar magnet. The magnetic moment is related to the strength and direction of the magnetic field created by this electron. The alpha value can then be figured out from this measurement.
Why is this number 1/137 so significant? First, it’s a small number. This means that electromagnetism is relatively weak at least compared to the strong nuclear force. Consequently, electrons orbit on average, at a substantial distance away from the proton, which allows electrons to be available for exchange with other atoms, so that chemistry can take place. And thus life is possible. However, this number is not too large, because otherwise atoms would not form in the first place.
In 1957, English astronomer Fred Hoyle and others found that the abundance of carbon in the universe could be explained only if the fine structure constant had a value that made the nuclei of helium atoms more likely to fuse to produce carbon nuclei than otherwise. They calculated that if this constant was different by 4%, Carbon and Oxygen may not have existed.
What determines the value of α? Some believe it was set at the moment of the big bang due to the initial conditions from quantum fluctuations. Others think that there are tiny hidden dimensions that fix the value.
Is alpha really a constant? No. Alpha changes as a function of the energy, according to QED. It is very close 1/137 at zero Kelvin which is roughly the temperature of the universe, and at room temperature. But at 10^15 Kelvin near the big bang, it would would have been around 1/127, but after a few minutes it would have reached 1/137 as today.
#finestructureconstant
So why do we then call it a constant, if it actually isn’t? The answer is for most practical purposes in our current universe, it is constant. 
Наука
The craziest thing about fine structure constant is that Pauli (who was absolutely posessed by this number), when he was sick and dying, was taken (without neither him, nor doctors realizing it) to the hospital's room no. 137.
That's amusing. Do you have a source for that?
Coincidence is frequently mistaken for miracles
@@KeithKessler I think the episode is described in the book "137: Jung, Pauli and the Pursuit of a Scientific Obsession" by Arthur Miller. But it is also mentioned in the Wikipedia article ("Wolfgang Pauli") at the end of "Early years..."
@@-1-alex-1- Thanx
@@LaplacianFourier
Are there ever true coincidences?
The word Kabbalah, the ancient Jewish school of mysticism that is supposed to answer ALL questions about the Universe, has a Gematria (numerical value) of...
137.
😶🤷♂️
I've watched quite a few videos on this subject and Arvin has by far done the best job in explaining it. Well done Arvin, first class channel
Fantastically easy to follow. This man is an absolute legend.
I’m using him to learn about quantum mechanics because he’s somehow able to pack just enough info and still make sense.
i absolutely agree.
“If you can’t explain something to a first-year student, then you haven’t really understood.” - Richard Feynman
Now that's what you are doing !!! The way you explain each of your video makes any average person understand it !!! You are a good teacher and content creator !!!
I thought it was”if you can’t explain it to a kid” 😂😂 but I get the just
Dark matter /energy paradox SOLVED
m.ruclips.net/video/ZQNWVQc5sNI/видео.html
What experience have you of "the average person"?
The average person can only possibly be imaginary can it not?
Ithink Feynman understood perfectly well that all that atomectron mumbo jumbo was pure religion cum imagination-it's the old invisible aeroplanes scam, 54 32 1 1 ..... I must merely wait for my Voila!
and what exactly do you get from these" explanations?
Ah yes: "teachers says" that every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings, because...?
Because " teacher says" so it must be so.
ace " explanation" that.
You didn't mention Arthur Eddington who came up with a theory why the denominator of the fine structure constant must be 136. When better experiments showed it to be 137, he came up with another theory. This earned him the nickname of Arthur Adding-one. Recently, Sir Michael Atiyah revived Eddington's work from its well-deserved oblivion, embellished by yet another theory to explain the decimal places. I tried to read Sir Michael's paper: it's very well written, but I'm afraid it doesn't make much sense. He was nearly 90 and would die a few months later.
Yes, it's an amusing story. I didn't think it was relevant to the main understanding of the constant.
This is one of the criminally underrated channel on RUclips. You're an amazing educator, sir.❤️
Criminally underrated? He has more than half a million subscribers. I have seen youtube channels that produced great content and had like 500 subscribers.
What’s criminal is how theorists turn a blind eye to thermodynamics and entropy. Every theorists admits, to continue on with theory’s, they have to ignore it.
Rubbish, he's overrated if anything, he had a ridiculously weak grasp of the subject and is awful at trying to explain.
Dunning kruger in person.
@@djuk6573 How delightfully ironic it is when that comment comes from someone whose only video on their channel is a link to a very old climate change denier “documentary”. 😂
@@WreckedRectum tell me one thing that's wrong in that documentary.
I've been waiting for a more comprehensive coverage of this topic -- and you delivered as usual.
The graphics and especially the meticulous accuracy in key details is astonishing. I can’t imagine the amount of time and effort invested in these masterpieces.
Very cool video. I'm learning more and more! Thank you for taking the time to share!
For real, i want this channel to be more popular! It is incredible how you explain everything about physics!!!
Thank you very much!!
For those interested, there is a very well done, and also not well known movie that involves the FSC, available on RUclips Movies. It's entitled "UFO", starring Alex Sharp, David Strathairn, and Gillian Anderson. Now before you roll your eyes and giggle, the film takes a very plausible look at the possibility of the FSC being employed as a measure for intelligence, and the basis of a universally common mathmatical tool for communication. It's a good watch and it's well written and produced.
I watch a number of physics and astrophysics channels, and I have to say, you really do what you claim. Your explanation of concepts is always a perfect balance between full proper explanation and a little random fun... and your videos have that same vibe, like you clearly know what you're talking about, but I don't feel like there's a test coming up, which is the vibe of some other popular physics channels. This is really good stuff, glad I found you.
Thanks! That's exactly what I'm trying to do - explain the understandable details, but also indulge myself and the audience in the mysticism of science, while trying to point out how it is usually not so mystical.
Of all my years of watching physics lectures and books, this is the first i heard of this. Alvin keep up the good work on illuminating these missing subjects. Thanks
Yes :) His name is Arvin btw - not Alvin.
Same, this was big.
@@Starcraft2Sonic I think it autocorrected to Alvin from Arvin
That goes to show that the resources you are used to are not teaching you anything. I keep saying it. If you CANNOT DO THE MATH, you CANNOT UNDERSTAND even the basic concepts of physics.
God invented Mathematics, man merely discovered that which God ALREADY invented, so @0:14 why was Pauli going to seek answers from the devil when both he AND the devil are just created beings? Shouldn't Pauli be seeking wisdom from God instead, Who is All Wise? Salaam.
Learnt something new for today. Now I will never forget 1/137 as magical number.
this is an amazing video. I have watched 5 times and will look for the QED video next. I cant believe such high quality, insightful videos are found here
My new favorite physics RUclips channel. No one else is talking about any of these obscure yet super interesting topics. Thank you sir!
I had never heard or read about the fine structure constant. Many thanks for the illuminating talk. Learnt something new today.
as usual , a great video, Arvin....clear, concise explanation, thank you
Still one of the best! Another great video! The Feynman aspect of his fascination of 1/137 has intrigued me a while now.
The highlight of my Sunday! Thanks for being good at what you do, Arvin Ash team! 👍🏼
You must be a Chiefs fan...
Awesome explanation as usual.
I have theory that in order for Arvin to produce such CONSTANTLY BRILLIANT videos he requires his brain to be at a constant temperature and that's why he wears that great looking hat!
Always learning from you Arvin.
Never to miss Arvin's explanation. Always a lot to learn! Keep going Arvin - you're helping the humanity! Besti wishes!
Whenever I want to fully comprehend a scientific concept, this is one of my go-to resources. Certain people have a natural ability to breakdown a complex subject into easy to comprehend segments allowing the most people to understand. Sciclicenglish, veritasium, fermilab, are done of the others.
Excellent video production and information. Presentation is outstanding. Thank you!
Love all your videos ! I would love to hear more about Casimir effect and one on basis of quantum computers
Love your delivery style
Thank you
Thanks for the explanation. I applaud the fact that you I said “I don’t know.” One of the problems in physics today is that not enough scientists say that phrase. I think it opens the path for others to look in that direction.
True, Scientists, those of integrity, ALWAYS say I don't know.
Research scientists say "I don't know" every day. That's where great ideas come from.
I am none of those and i know that i dont know.
That’s not how science works. In physics, scientists don’t just say they know and block others paths from researching it. The scientific method is followed. Papers are published and peer reviewed. The results are duplicated and verified.
Smart people aren't afraid to say they dont know.
Incredibly put together and explained
That was so easy to understand the way you explained it, Arvin.
Wonderful video!! Hard to image it being done better!!
Thanks Arvin!!
I ALWAYS get super excited when you tease another new video....& Christmas comes early when you put up on RUclips!!!
Thanks so much, Sir!!
After thinking about it, I ask "What is the total pie"
If Alpha is just 1 out of 137 slices of this "pie" ....Then what IS the pie??
What is the 137 ??
Is the 137 the "super force" that was briefly before it split into the 4 fundamental forces in nature???
I think if we can know what the 137 represents, then we can maybe put The Alpha Constant into some sort of useful context.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoy them.
Your videos are always so interesting!
Beautiful video 🙌🏿 Thank you Arvin 🙏🏿
Thank you. I popped over from Answers with Joe and have found another cool channel to peruse.
Best physics discussions online! Thank you for putting these videos out.
Awesome, video yet again.
I've seen that number pop up in some fun circle geometry stuff I've played around with.
Not surprised tho as PI seems to relate to it as per those equations you showed.
I very much doubt you've seen this exact value show up in circle geometry. If you are sure then I'd love to see proof:) As far as I know there's no known connection to any purely geometric ratios.
@@DKFX1 yeah, would love someone to look over it.
Please share your email and I'll reach out.
@@engizmo tried sending my mail, but YT auto-deleted. :/
@@DKFX1 😢
Arvin your brilliant ad in reference to sommerfeld was smooth.
Love your stuff Arvin, thanks again :)
Glad you like them!
Well I didn't know it varied with temperature. Also, my cat Bullet intently watched this whole video as I watched it. I don't think he understood your words, but your animations were varied and dynamic enough to keep him interested the whole time.
Excellent video, as always. Very interesting, informative and worthwhile video. Many thanks for the links to the articles, including Arnold Sommerfeld's original article.
There is always something new to learn from this channel ❤️
Wonderful explanation of a mind-boggling number, thank you Sir.
I like watching videos like this as they remind me that basically I know pretty much nothing but at the same time show me that I'm not alone in that. This one has sent my limited grey matter spiralling off in all sorts of directions wondering about what other constants are out there and what sort of things are they used in. I think I'm going to have some fun with this whole concept 😊
How do you define "know"?
*Can*you define or set out what you seek to convey when you use the word" know"?
What would be a clear example of " know" or knowing?
Is there any material difference between" know" or " knowing" and believe/believing or assume/ assuming or infer/inferring and wherein lies that difference?
For example do you "know"that the thing on the end of your left leg is your left foot, and if so *How* do you know that *If*you do?
If potential knowledge is infinite, then simple math proves that at any given moment, no matter how much we know, we really know nothing.
This man should get an award for being the best teacher
Great job 👏🏻, please make videos on Anthropic principle to understand better on this topic thanks
Great job explaining such an esoteric idea.
When the coder was scripting their simulation engine, they chose 137 'cause it gave smooth results with the GPU when simulating our universe.
127 is so much nicer though (it's 1111111 in binary)
that's why it changed to 127 at the big bang, it was too hot and the coder did some undervolting to reduce temperature
Maybe the stepper motors had fractal gearing?
Thanks for mentioning Arnold Sommerfeld, an obvious hole in my education!
If I remember correctly the very young Werner Heisenberg was a student of Sommerfeld or at least had some contact with him.
This is by far one of the best videos I've seen that attempts to teach the fine structure constant.
Just wow. What a great job of bringing such an elusive thing into the almost graspable.
Great presentation as always Arvin. The graphics and the narration is superb.
If entropy in the universe is increasing, then the universe is cooling down, do we know the rate of cooling ? What equation is employed to calculate this ?
Are all the events that are happening in the macro state in the universe probabilistic or deterministic ? Any method to ascertain this ?
You say alpha is changing over time, do we know the rate of change ? At what stage of alpha will the Big Crunch happen ?
Apart from imaginary, what is "the universe"?
Since you have no idea what "the universe" is or might be, how could you possibly discover whether or not it is what you call "cooling down"?
Can that which is imaginary "cool down"?
Hi Arvin! Please make a video about theories that say what can be on scales smaller than the Planck length
You support Russia OE ukrain?
@@shadowoffire4307 I live in Russia
Excellent video sir, i could understand this as small level.
Explicação clara, didática e muito bem ilustrada. Genial, muito favorável à compreensão. Vídeo indispensável...
Imagine what Arnold Sommerfeld could have accomplished with Brilliant 😂
Pay lots of money to learn some information that is easily available free everywhere?
Please don't stop making videos on this RUclips channel. Nice 👍👍
Thank you. But all good things come to an end. I probably will not be making these videos too much longer. I'm spent. But people like you who appreciate these videos keep me going.
@@ArvinAsh wow you're a great person. I can totally understand what you're trying to say, so it's ok. Just wanted to say big fan. Love from India 🇮🇳
Top tier content, thanks Arvin.
what a well done work. what a great guy you are. so much thank you. really thank you. keep it up!!!
does that mean, that the fine structure constant can have different values depending on the temperature/energy of the locality (like the core of stars; at collision points etc)? And "if" so, how does it affect the particles/fusion reactions? Or would it be irrelevant when only plasma is involved?
Arvin and Matt are the only two ppl that always leave me with more questions after gettimg an answer - LOVE it!
The different values only apply at the temperatures which were present at close to the big bang. The core of stars is much cooler than that. At these temperatures, the constant does not vary enough to make a big difference.
He said it only went from 1/137 to 1/127 when the temperature got up to a quadrillion degrees. At even a billion degrees, and that's about as hot as any star can be, it would be a million times closer to 1/137 than 1/127 is, in other words still very close to 1/137.
@@medexamtoolsdotcom sure, close to "normal", but since it´s so inportant that it has exactly the value it has - who knows what even the slightest difference would have on fundamentally weird things like quantum objects^^
Glad to see so many people liking this wonderful subject. Thanks to Arvin Sir.
Very good video Arvin
It was the best explanation on this excellent subject.
Arvin, I think the real magic number is actually "13", which represents the number of spheres of the same size that can occupy any given volume perfectly with all of them touching the center sphere packed as tightly as possible - this is illustrated in the ancient drawings of the "Flower of Life".
I think that sphere packing depends on the number of dimensions you are working in.
There are videos that are based on abstract algebra on hyper complex numbers. In these you it seems that divisional algebras (plus, minus, multiply, and divide) work only in 1, 2, 4, and 8 dimensions. Look up Divisional Algebras and the Standard Model.
@@henrytjernlund I'm talking about the three spatial dimensions that make up our perceived reality at any given point in time.
Hi Arvin, can you please do a video on how magically einstien cameup or derived formula E=MC2 and why variables in most of the formulas are squared ? And how scientists comes up with constants like planks constant or speed of light it self?
I was thinking about this.😯
It is not that every variables or most variables are squared. For this we need to understand maths especially calculus, trigonometry, algebra. If you are comfortable, you can start with reading simple special relativity concepts like time dilation, length contraction, equivalence principle.
Lots of good books exist on modern physics, from which you can take reference.
Deriving E=mc² could be hard comparatively to other concepts like time dilation or length contraction , as it's calculus heavy, so you might need to be very comfortable with calculus. Now it can be considered as coincidence or something with no inherent explanation as to why many variables are squared. In 2d coordinate geometry, its very evident due to the formula we write for distances.
Regards.
Most squared variables come either from integration of a linear relation (mv --> mv²/2), or just from spreading some constant value over a surface area (most inverse square laws, like a force of gravity or EM force).
Fantastic video Sir.
"I don't know", is a great answer in science. It means there is more work to do.
i watched your video on fields and that was the day it became clear to me what fields actually are. but after watching your video, i found myself in a new problem. before that i believed that the universe is discrete and after knowing about fields i now think that universe is continouse, please help me sort this out in some future video. thank you. you are the best in my list.
The universe is pretty big and cardinalities are also. Y'know, N, Q, R, R2...
Universe can be discontinuous or continuous depending on the true nature of space time (see Loop Quantum Gravity for example). But it has nothing to do with the other quantum fields because they all are embedded in our (supposedly continuous) spacetime.
Wave functions are continuous. Interactions are discrete. The continuous wave function tells you the probability that a certain discrete event will happen. Often times, in the macro world, there are so many interactions that we can practically think of things as continuous, like radio waves. They're still just a bunch of photons, but they involve billions of times more photons than visible light. We just can't practically isolate a single radio photon. So it makes sense to use a continuous field model when designing antennas. All models are approximations. You use the one that answers the question you need to ask. Newton's laws will get you to Mars, even though they are not the complete reality.
This is another great presentation. Gosh, our knowledge of the Universe has changed so much since my High Scool days in 1966. Expanding Universe is Expanding Minds. Thanks Arvin.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Cómo siempre Arvin, felicitaciones por tu simpleza y calidad, que tengas un buen domingo y gracias por el aporte. Saludos
Igualmente, water brother.
Obrigado meu amigo
No one comes close to you as a physics educator, that's for sure! And how you illustrate your subject is stunning.
I love the fearless reasonable consideration of an intelligent creator on this channel. You are the only scientist making videos of this type on RUclips willing and brave enough to discuss it as a point of thought. Keep up the great videos
Marvellous stuff and way beyond my IQ level but I still find your channel exhilarating.
Terrific style plus depth of knowledge gives us the unique Arvin Ashe! Just wow and thanks Arvin! We’ll done son!
Awesome, thank you!
I've not learn so much in one shot for a long time, thx!
Another great video. One day we may have a great answer as to why the constants are the way they are, and these inquisitions and summaries help get us there :)
Question: I'd love to know why we don't think the center of a black hole is just a quark gluon plasma, where quarks can't overlap and some can or something, how do we now it is a point singularity?
Question2: Why would someone think there is a black hole emptying out into a white hole, when the mass of the black hole is not being drained? I would think we'd have to see black holes very quickly evaporate if there was an empty'ing out in its white hole counterpart.
In science, usually with great answers, we got more great questions. This is why science is so fascinating!
The truth is that science only answers how, not why. The pursuit of science is in reality part of a religious paradigm, one whose pursuit of physical effects can never reveal _why._ How and why are very different things.
@@PETERJOHN101 Sorry, science answers a lot of whys. I think you're messing the subjects here, coming to a science channel to try to discuss religion. If you have a religion (or not), and which one, is totally a different subject.
God invented Mathematics, man merely discovered that which God ALREADY invented, so @0:14 why was Pauli going to seek answers from the devil when both he AND the devil are just created beings? Shouldn't Pauli be seeking wisdom from God instead, Who is All Wise? Salaam.
@@ivornworrell Don't read too deep into Paul's quote. He was being sarcastic
You mentioned alpha's relationship to the speed of the electron being 1/137 of c. Does this indicate that alpha determines the electron's speed or is it merely a coincidence that the electron's speed divided by c is a value that is close to that of alpha? Do other particles with mass have a similar speed or is it just the electron?
Ratio of electron speed and speed of light is a way to think of the meaning of alpha. It is not a coincidence, it is how it was derived.
Would it also apply to a muon orbiting a proton?
@@ArvinAshThank you for the response. Since electrons have mass and light does not, does that indicate a relationship between alpha and the Higg's field, in terms of the Higg's strength or some other aspect of Higgs?
@@BloobleBonker Muon is much heavier, it should orbit at a different speed. (of course this whole talk of electron's and muon's speed in an atom isn't very meaningful in quantum mechanics, at least this shouldn't be taken too literally)
@@Lukionest Alpha is all about coupling constant between the photon field and electrically charged particles. It's not related to Higgs in any way. With Higgs field there is a similar coupling constant, it gives us particles' mass.
Brilliant, my friend, just plain brilliant! You are indeed a legend.
I don't think I've ever been this freakishly curious about one of Arvin's explanations before the intro even started
Wow. Amazing. Isn't the universe and everything that has ever existed just one big piece of art?
Thanks for another great video
Wish you happy new year 🎊🎁
Is there possibility that other universe exist with diff value of Alpha and other constants with generate whole different physics law and property ?
According to my knowledge of they existed we cannot communicate with them is there any way to create them in lab or contact them
It could be, but as you said, we could not communicate with these other universes. So it doesen't really matter. You can kinda make up your own universe with its own laws of physics in your head. But your mind is limited with the boudaries of our universe, so have fun.
God invented Mathematics, man merely discovered that which God ALREADY invented, so @0:14 why was Pauli going to seek answers from the devil when both he AND the devil are just created beings? Shouldn't Pauli be seeking wisdom from God instead, Who is All Wise? Salaam.
@@ivornworrell This does not explain anything. Humans always put god into the place where we can't explain a phenomena, but we always push forward and find ways to explain even the complexed things. First it was God who created humans, now we know better, first it was God that makes the sun hot and glow, now we know better. We put god as an explanation to why the moon orbits the earth, now we know better. Putting god as a solution to a problem makes yourself ignorant to the problem itself. Do not underestimate research done by humans. Sure, god could have done the big bang. What gives, because it is a time where we can't find any answers yet. Maybe in a few hundred years we have a solution to that problem and the existince of god shifted again as history and science pushes forward. God is just a placeholder for things we don't understand yet.
Awesome episode.
Ur explanation is SUPERB.. a template for others
Hi Arvin, can you do a video on the Penrose theory of conformal cyclic cosmology.
Seconded
Great video! So if the value is changing for this constant, would it be possible it will change again in say a million years and we just happen to calculate the value in these conditions of the universe today. ? I m not against the fine tuning theory but i highly doubt its validation.
Unlikely. We are not likely to approach the temperatures near the big bang in the current trajectory of the universe.
Very nicely done video!
THANK YOU DR. ARVIN ASH...!!!
This and "the golden ratio" are the signatures of god
I think a possible answer to the question of why it is such a random number might be closely related to the many-worlds theory. If life and the universe did not exist because the value of the fine structure constant was not 1/137, then no life would be around to ask why such a value. Many questions about why the constants of the universe are so precise and unpredictable might actually be answered by the many-worlds theory. We could simply be one of or the only universe hospitable to life. Forgive my english I'm a french 15-year-old :p
Your English is perfect! I had no idea until you said you were French. But yeah, many questions can be answered by the anthropic principle and many worlds. "Why is x?" --> "Well somewhere there is not x, but there's nobody around to ask why." :P
Because it would be horrible if the universe was deliberately created, that someone comes up with a many world theory?
Thanks a lot for this great video
Thank you for great great great great explanation!
Amazing video (as always) and amazing channel!
However, "life" = "life as we know it". Different alpha might just mean different life :)
Well said!
@@ArvinAsh, you have one of the best channels explaining physics out there! I am a teacher too (biology), and I am just stunned by how well you can explain complex topics - bravo!!
While it is interesting that things like α and π, are ratios, there are a lot of constants, like c. Couldn't we reverse engineer starting from any of these values, (like i.e we say c = 1), to find the actual mathematical model, that the universe was created?
If I had created it, the values would be proportionate of one another, or atleast somehow connected
This has already been done. Look up "Planck units."
Great video, thanks a lot!!!! greeteings from Mexico
Totally newer DIMENSIONS never learned or just talked in college days though Alpha Bravo Charly is very very meaningful always as 1 2 and 3 and every thing goes on and on whether its a race or on the TABLE game of eyes and face winning loosing goes on ..like cat dead cat alive is zing thing. Thank you sir.
Nature is not " fine tuned for life ". Life is fine tuned to nature. I find it disturbing when people in self indulgent folly and blind arrogance make such claims as this, especially when their ironic claims in which the opposite can be debated with ease. Almost as if such claims are being plagiarized or hijacked.
You clearly do not understand fine tuning but you will state your strong opinion about it. Are you projecting blind arrogance?
Great explanation
Very interesting topic. Got me thinking whether all the universal constants are somehow related through time and space, and thus lead to one grand unified constant from which all others derive.
At 8:08-8:25, those are superb graphics for explaining fine structure!!
After reading about the fine structure in so many books, finally I 'get it' (completely) thanks to that graphic.
A quibble regarding the alpha formula. The real formula is this...
α = e^2/2hεc
Note that it contains h, not h-bar, and is π-free. The real version (given immediately above) is seen rarely, but it does occur in at least the following two reputable places: McQuarrie, Quantum Chemistry, back cover, and Unzicker, Einstein's Lost Key, pp. 45 and 51.
The commonly seen version, shown in this video at 2:00, is nonsensical since the explicit π and the hidden π (in h-bar's denominator) cancel one another. That's one reason to avoid the common version: π chases its own tail to say, in effect, "now multiply by 1." The other reason is that it reinforces the earthling superstition of π, regarded as mystical rather than as a useful tool for calculating circular things. (ETs will never bother trying to communicate with earthlings so long as we wallow in the dual superstition of π and the Golden Ratio.)
Hi Sir, I have a simple (may be) question. Two persons are counting some identical items (x), one person is taking x one by one from the pile and putting it inside a bag after counting. The role of the another person is to watch so that there is no mistake in counting. Just for the sake of judgement of the quantity, the person watching says some random three digit number between 700 and 800, now the question is what are the chances of that number being the exact number matching with the total quality of item x after they finish the counting process.
Great video! Thank you.
alpha is the passage of time and energy exchange ratio. there is currently no theory of time on the quantum, and that is a big oversight because time is not a constant, it's one of the variables that explain how we are able to transcode the quantum into our perceived reality. Think of how quickly mosquitos fly and die. And how slow tortoises move and how old they live. How light seems to be instantaneous yet still physically need to travel. Or how slowly gravity pulls us from afar yet seems to manifest instantly at a certain distance. How the scale of reactions impacts the speed at which changes occur.
the explanatory power of this dude is clocking in a high score. this is some real teaching talent. i know, because im slow.