***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a long-term project that I have in mind, I\u2019m trying to formulate discussions of certain scientific concepts. \u00a0I want eventually to publish what I\u2019m working on, but a major initial goal is simply to be certain that I myself understand what I\u2019m talking about. \u00a0I make no claim to either originality or finality at this point, and I would be happy if anybody with substance expertise decides to chime in \u2014 charitably and gently, I hope! \u2014 with suggestions or corrections:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The proposition that the universe is\u00a0fine-tuned for life\u00a0asserts that the conditions that allow\u00a0life to exist\u00a0can occur only when certain universal\u00a0dimensionless physical constants\u00a0lie within a very narrow range of values. \u00a0In other words, if any one of several fundamental constants were only slightly different, the universe would likely be inhospitable to the establishment and development of\u00a0matter, of astronomical structures, of diversity in chemical elements, and (therefore) of biological life in any sense that we currently know or understand or can really envision.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
What is a physical constant? \u00a0It is a physical quantity \u2014 sometimes called a universal constant or a fundamental physical constant \u2014 that is generally believed to both universal in its nature and to have a constant value over time. \u00a0(A mathematical constant, by contrast, also has a fixed numerical value but doesn\u2019t directly involve any actual physical measurement.)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Current science is aware of a number of physical constants. \u00a0Of these, probably the most famous is c<\/em>, the speed of light in a vacuum. \u00a0(It appears, for example, in the famous Einsteinean equation\u00a0E<\/i>\u00a0=\u00a0mc<\/i>2<\/sup>.) \u00a0\u00a0Its exact value is\u00a0299792458\u00a0meters per second<\/span>\u00a0(or approximately\u00a0300000\u00a0km\/s (186000\u00a0mi\/s). \u00a0In 1905,\u00a0Einstein\u2019s special theory of relativity\u00a0postulated that the speed of light\u00a0c<\/i><\/span>\u00a0with respect to any inertial frame is a constant and that it is independent of the motion of the light source.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Others physical constants include the\u00a0gravitational constant\u00a0G<\/i>, the\u00a0Planck constant\u00a0h<\/i>, the\u00a0electric constant\u00a0\u03b5<\/i>0<\/sub>, and the\u00a0elementary charge\u00a0e<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
What does it mean to speak of dimensionless<\/em> physical constants? \u00a0Dimensionlessness (to coin a word, perhaps) means that the physical constant is\u00a0a pure number having no units attached and having a numerical value that is independent of whatever\u00a0system of units or measurement\u00a0may be used. Perhaps the best-known example of a dimensionless physical constant is the\u00a0fine-structure constant, \u03b1, which has an approximate value of \u200b1<\/sup>\u2044137.036<\/sub><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
To be continued.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I have some bad news and some good news. \u00a0First, the bad: \u00a0 \u201cCalifornia landfills are belching high levels of climate-warming methane:\u00a0Airborne remote sensing spots the Golden State\u2019s biggest emitters of the gas from the sky\u201d \u00a0 \u201cNew CDC Report on Superbugs Is Full of Bad News\u201d \u00a0 But here\u2019s some (potentially) good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[551,545,2601,123,2195,743,243,401],"class_list":["post-80190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-argument-from-design","tag-fine-tuning","tag-god","tag-intelligent-design","tag-physics","tag-religion","tag-science","tag-theism"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Galapagos](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/01\/Riftia_tube_worm_colony_Galapagos_2011.jpg\")
<\/a>