Alpha Quote by Sam Kean

If alpha [the fine-structure constant] were bigger than it really is, we should not be able to distinguish matter from ether [the vacuum, nothingness],…

— Max Born

“The mystery about α is actually a double mystery. The first mystery – the origin of its numerical value α ≈ 1/137 has been…

— Malcolm H. Mac Gregor

“Only three of the naturally occurring elements were manufactured in the big bang. The rest were forged in the high-temperature hearts and explosive remains…

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

“The fine-structure constant is ubiquitous throughout physics. I’ve already noted its connection to the electromagnetic interaction. In atomic physics, the binding energy, fine-structure splitting,…

— Gerald Gabrielse

“All the elements other than hydrogen and helium make up just 0.04 percent of the universe. Seen from this perspective, the periodic system appears…

— Sam Kean

“In the context of physics, 137 is equal to the integer part of the inverse of the fine structure constant ... The fine structure…

— Leon O Chua

“In particular, a quantity known as the fine-structure constant, which controls the basic fingerprinting for every element, must have remained unchanged for billions of…

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Quite obviously, a theoretical determination of the numerical value of α would signify great progress in our understanding of fundamental interactions. Many physicists have…

— Harald Fritzsch

“I completely failed to see the value in memorizing the stupid periodic table of elements.”

— Inara Scott

“... it should be remembered that the atomicity of electric charge has already found its expression in the specific numerical value of the fine…

— Wolfgang Pauli

“Even a good, inveterate atheist like physicist Richard Feynman once said of the fine structure constant, “All good theoretical physicists put this number up…

— Sam Kean

“All we can assert with confidence is a negative: if the constants of Nature were not within one percent or so of their observed…

— John D. Barrow