Scientists question nature's fundamental laws

[icymist]

Scientists question nature's fundamental laws
Laws such as the speed of light may have been different in the past

By Michael Schirber

Updated: 11:28 a.m. PT July 11, 2006
Public confidence in the "constants" of nature may be at an all time low.

Recent research has found evidence that the value of certain fundamental parameters, such as the speed of light or the invisible glue that holds nuclei together, may have been different in the past.

"There is absolutely no reason these constants should be constant," says astronomer Michael Murphy of the University of Cambridge. "These are famous numbers in physics, but we have no real reason for why they are what they are."

The observed differences are small — roughly a few parts in a million — but the implications are huge: The laws of physics would have to be rewritten, not to mention we might need to make room for six more spatial dimensions than the three that we are used to.

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