Wherefore Constants?

Pay attention to this: Most anything in this note is subject to change.

Yet.

Not everything is relative. Some things never, ever change.

Fundamental physical constants are dimensionless ratios among "dimension-ful" observations of real events in the world. These constants, as the term implies, never change. They do not come from theoretical mathematical models. No math myths, here, like string theory. The constants arise from actual measurements of physical events such as the measured distance between two things, the measured speed of light, the measured gravitational strength between two objects, the measured magnetic strength of an electrical current in a field.

It's odd to think that something constant describes something that continually changes. Yet it does. Even the famous relativity equation, E=mc^2, has within its symbols a constant, namely, the speed of light (well, the number 2 is also a constant, but that's a special constant aside). Now, the speed of light is not dimensionless, but it illustrates the thought nicely. The speed of light (in a vacuum) never changes. The very constancy of the speed of light describes the relativity of the other factors in the equation, energy and mass. As energy changes so does mass likewise, but always relative to the speed of light, a constant. As the speed of light never, ever changes, the proportion of energy to mass never, ever changes.

If the fundamental constants had values other than they actually have, then the universe would not exist (certainly not as we think to know it). But the constants in fact have their known, unchangeable values. For example, the so called "fine structure constant" concerns the measured electromagnetic strength of interactions between electrons and photons. Its value is very close to 1/137. It never changes. Yet it is constants like this one that provide for all the changes and evolution of what appears in the universe whether we speak of star formation or of genetic mutations.

So the constants are not relative. They describe, yes, other factors that are relative and changeable, but the constants themselves just are: fixed values by which the universe holds together and about which the universe (r)evolves.

And so. The constants, those persistent unchanging values, describe the universe as it's understood, and provide for all the apparent diversity and continual change seen in the universe. Without those particular constants, there would be no universe in particular.

No constants, no change, no universe.

(All things holding by His word of power. Hebrews 1:3.)

An Address To The Slacker Faithful-Of-The-Correct-Way-To-Do-It Who Criticize Those Who Do It Incorrectly

I like the way they're doing it wrong better than the way we're not doing it right.