lew@ihuxr.UUCP (10/18/83)
There's an old conundrum, "If everything doubled in size overnight, how could you tell?" The question of a variable value of 'c' is similar. This gets into the area of natural units and dimensional analysis. Is there an independent standard of speed, other than 'c'? Yes. It is basically the atomic standard. The atomic length standard is the Bohr radius: r = h/(m*e^2) 'h' is 'h-bar', or 2pi times Planck's constant. 'm' is the (reduced) electron mass. 'e' is the electronic charge. The atomic time standard is given by 'h/E' where 'E' scales the energy levels of the atom: t = h/(m*e^4/h^2) We can express 'e' in terms of the fine structure constant, which is the dimensionless expression of the electromagnetic coupling strength. Its value determines the qualitative nature of atomic and molecular structure. a = e^2/(h*c) Putting all this together we get for the atomic speed standard: v = r/t = a*c So saying that 'c' was greater in the past is the same as saying that 'a' was smaller. The trouble is that changing the value of 'a' causes QUALITATIVE changes in the way the world works. All this is to say nothing of the problem of magnetism, whose relative strength to electrical phenomena is a direct measure of 'c'. Lew Mammel, Jr. ihuxr!lew