Surprises in numerical expressions of physical constants

Ariel Amir, Mikhail Lemeshko, Tadashi Tokieda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In science, as in life, "surprises" can be adequately appreciated only in the presence of a null model, what we expect a priori. In physics, theories sometimes express the values of dimensionless physical constants as combinations of mathematical constants like π or e. The inverse problem also arises, whereby the measured value of a physical constant admits a "surprisingly" simple approximation in terms of well-known mathematical constants. Can we estimate the probability for this to be a mere coincidence, rather than an inkling of some theory? We answer the question in the most naive form.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)609-612
Number of pages4
JournalAmerican Mathematical Monthly
Volume123
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2016
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Mathematics

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