[net.physics] Yet another prelims problem.

stekas@hou2g.UUCP (J.STEKAS) (02/16/84)

At what temperature would ice melt if the fine structure constant
was EXACTLY 1/137.

                                                 Jim

jlg@lanl-a.UUCP (02/24/84)

Everyone knows why clouds are white.

gwyn%brl-vld@sri-unix.UUCP (03/01/84)

From:      Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn@brl-vld>

If one believes that the fine-structure constant can be computed from
first principles, as did Eddington, then for it to be exactly 1/137
would not be possible.  For one to believe otherwise, he would have
to believe that k, e, h, and c have no necessary relationship to one
another.  I recall that Dirac was quite taken by the "pure number"
constants of physics.

P.S.  Eddington's calculation at first predicted exactly 1/137 for
alpha but as more determinations came in he "renormalized" it to get
the right answer.  I find his reasoning too hard to follow to tell if
it was totally bogus or not.