Deeper Probe of Fundamental Constants
TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
Two astronomers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique to test the constancy of the laws of physics, a feature that RTB’s cosmic creation model predicts. Previously, the best constraints on variations in fundamental constants probed back to around 10 billion years ago. This new technique, which uses the ubiquitous radiation from a specific transition in hydrogen, allows scientists to push that date back to over 13.7 billion years ago when the cosmic microwave background radiation was emitted. While not yet as sensitive as previous methods, the new technique can detect variations in the fine-structure constant (which determines the strength of the electromagnetic force) as small as 1% and is the only such probe available. RTB expects that results from applying this technique will confirm the biblical predictions of constant laws of physics (see Jeremiah 33:25 for example) and further demonstrate the fine-tuning of those laws.
- Rishi Khatri and Benjamin D. Wandelt, “21-cm Radiation: A New Probe of Variation in the Fine-Structure Constant,” Physical Review Letters 98 (2007): 111301.
- https://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v98/e111301
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