A Constant of Nature May Vary in Different Parts of the Universe [View All]

[n2doc]

Data from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile to analyze the light from distant quasars, which shows that one of the constants of nature appears to be different in different parts of the cosmos, supports the theory that our solar system is an area of the Universe that is "just right" for life; which negates Einstein's equivalence principle, which states that the laws of physics are the same everywhere.

"This finding was a real surprise to everyone," says John Webb of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The change in the constant appears to have an orientation, creating a "preferred direction", or axis, across the cosmos, an idea that was dismissed more than 100 years ago with the creation of Einstein's special theory of relativity.

The report describes how the "magic number" known as the fine-structure constant –- dubbed alpha for short –- appears to vary throughout the Universe, says the team from the University of New South Wales, Swinburne University of Technology and the University of Cambridge. The work is currently under peer review.

“After measuring alpha in around 300 distant galaxies, a consistency emerged: this magic number, which tells us the strength of electromagnetism, is not the same everywhere as it is here on Earth, and seems to vary continuously along a preferred axis through the Universe,” said Webb.

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