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Laws of Physics Vary Throughout the Universe, New Study Suggests

2K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  CeilingStarer 
#1 ·
"The implications for our current understanding of science are profound. If the laws of physics turn out to be merely 'local by-laws', it might be that whilst our observable part of the universe favours the existence of life and human beings, other far more distant regions may exist where different laws preclude the formation of life, at least as we know it."

"If our results are correct, clearly we shall need new physical theories to satisfactorily describe them."
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100909004112.htm

Discuss :)
 
#2 ·
Interesting, but it kind of makes sense that we would come up with laws that best describe our own observable part of the universe and that with more information, we see it doesn't fully describe the universe. It doesn't mean however there isn't laws of physics that apply to the whole universe.
 
#3 ·
True. It's like the Newtonian law of gravity. It worked for most gravitational effects we were able to observe, but as technology got better and we were able to make more precise calculations, the numbers didn't add up in certain instances. It wasn't until Einstein came along and developed the theory of general relativity that we could make calculations that were accurate in all instances we have been able to observe.
 
#4 ·
The difference is in the alpha constant, though. That doesn't actually change the mathematical formulae themselves, but the numbers we get from them (correct me if I'm wrong on that, I'm not an astrophysicist). Anyway, I guess we have to sit and wait to see if alpha is an anomaly or if all constants are local (or if peer review kills it entirely).
 
#5 ·
That's my understanding of it too. You always gotta take these science articles with a grain of salt cause the journalists are never as knowledgeable about the field as the scientists. I think what they meant was that we'll need new laws to explain why the constant varies.
 
#6 ·
I don't know enough about it to really have an opinion. I've certainly always thought that physics would be the same universe-wide though, despite chemistry being very different... non-carbon life forms etc... but I guess this **** all ties together: the idea of energy life-forms and what not.
 
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