Ever wondered what holds the universe together? In this episode of Cosmically Curious, host Patrick McNamee King sits down with UNH astronomer John Gianforte to explore the fundamental constants of nature — the universal rules and numbers that define reality, set the laws of physics, and allow us to understand the cosmos across space and time.
Transcription:
Patrick McNameeKing: So, John, what are the fundamental constants of nature?
John Gianforte: You want me to give you a list of all of them?
Patrick McNameeKing: Well, we can save that for next episode, but as a whole, what are they?
John Gianforte: So there's like 51 fundamental constants in nature that define what reality is. Some of them are really interesting.
For example, the speed of light, the absolute speed limit for anything that carries energy or information in a vacuum — it's like 186,262 miles per second. That's a fundamental constant, right? So that's an important one.
There's also something called Planck's constant, which sets the scale of quantum effects, determining how energy is absorbed and emitted in discrete packets or quanta. It's the basis of quantum mechanics.
Patrick McNameeKing: So why is it important for scientists to define these constants?
John Gianforte: They're like the foundation of physical laws. They allow scientists to use equations to accurately predict everything that's going to happen. They can predict how two atoms are going to combine or not combine to form molecules, and what kind of atoms can exist. It helps us define the material world around us.
One of the really important things about these fundamental constants is they are universal constants. They don't just work on earth or they just don't work in the solar system that we live in. They operate uniformly across great distances throughout the universe.
By discovering them and understanding them here, it allows us to understand things at great distances that took place long ago. It really teaches us about how the world around us and the universe around us functions, and really where our place in that is.
Patrick McNameeKing: Well, John, thanks as always.
John Gianforte: You're welcome.
Have a question about the night sky? Email us at cosmic@nhpr.org.
