LET'S TALK ABOUT VARYING G.
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| Title: | LET'S TALK ABOUT VARYING G. |
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| Authors: | MOSS, ADAM1 adammoss@phas.ubc.ca, NARIMANI, ALI1 anariman@phas.ubc.ca, SCOTT, DOUGLAS1 dscott@phas.ubc.ca, Ahluwalia, D. V. |
| Source: | International Journal of Modern Physics D: Gravitation, Astrophysics & Cosmology. Dec2010, Vol. 19 Issue 14, p2289-2294. 6p. |
| Subjects: | Astronomical constants, Gravity, Strains & stresses (Mechanics), Protons, Mass transfer, Physics experiments |
| Abstract: | It is possible that fundamental constants may not be constants at all. There is a generally accepted view that one can only talk about variations of dimensionless quantities, such as the fine structure constant αe ≡ e2/4πϵ0ℏc. However, constraints on the strength of gravity tend to focus on G itself, which is problematic. We stress that G needs to be multiplied by the square of a mass, and hence, for example, one should be constraining $\alpha_{{\rm g}}\equiv G m_{{\rm p}}^2/\hbar c$, where mp is the proton mass. Failure to focus on such dimensionless quantities makes it difficult to interpret the physical dependence of constraints on the variation of G in many published studies. A thought-experiment involving talking to observers in another universe about the values of physical constants may be useful for distinguishing what is genuinely measurable from what is merely part of our particular system of units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Engineering Source |
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