Electronics is really an applied branch of physics, so it isn’t surprising that if you are serious about your electronics, you probably know a little physics, too. If you’ve ever heard the term “fine ...

As fundamental constants go, the speed of light, c, enjoys all the fame. Yet c’s numerical value says nothing about nature; it differs depending on whether it’s measured in meters per second or miles ...

A new measurement of the fine-structure constant is three times more accurate than before. The constant helps glue together "coarse" and "fine" measurement of particles. The new measurement bests a ...

A crucial number that rules the universe goes big in a strange quantum material. The fine-structure constant is about 10 times its normal value in a type of material called quantum spin ice, ...

In sports and in cosmology, the rules of the game aren't supposed to change as you go along. Athletes call this playing fair. Cosmologists call it the cosmological principle, and it means that the ...

A team in Paris has made the most precise measurement yet of the fine-structure constant, killing hopes for a new force of nature. As fundamental constants go, the speed of light, c, enjoys all the ...

Quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the fundamental quantum theory governing the behavior of charged particles and light in vacuum. The strength of the interactions in QED is quantified by the fine ...

In physics, the Fine Structure Constant is one the strangest numbers. The Fine Structure Constant is one the strangest numbers in all of physics. It’s the job of physicists to worry about numbers, but ...

I'm disappointed that you didn't point out the spooky coincidence: that alpha (the fine structure constant) is e^2/4πε0ħ, is unitless, and is frighteningly close to 1/137. alpha = 0.007 297 352 1/137 ...