Are the Fundamental Constants Changing?

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Recent findings suggest that the fundamental constants might not be as stable as we assumed. And be sure to signup for your free trial of The Great Courses Plus at http://ow.ly/rcsA30beNw1

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Webb et al. 1998, A Search for Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9803165

Webb et al. 2011, A Search for Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant https://arxiv.org/abs/1008.3907

Martins & Pinho 2016, Stability of Fundamental Couplings: a Global Analysis https://arxiv.org/abs/1701.08724

The laws of physics are the same everywhere in the universe. At least we astrophysicists hope so. After all, it’s hard to unravel the complexities of distant parts of the universe if we don’t know the basic rules. But what if this is wrong? There is a hint of evidence that the fundamental constants that govern our universe may evolve over time, and even from one location to another.

Written by Graeme Gossel and Matt O’Dowd Hosted by Matt O'Dowd Produced by Rusty Ward Graphics by Kurt Ross Assistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike Petrow Made by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com)

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