Constants, such as the gravitational constant and the speed of light, are present in all the laws of physics. Recent observations have cast doubt on one of them. Does this mean that the structure of physics will crumble? Are we seeing the dawn of a scientific revolution? This book is written in the form of an enquiry into the importance of a possible variation in fundamental constants. Jean-Philippe Uzan and Benedicte Leclercq ask such questions as: What is a constant? What role do constants play in the laws of physics? How can we verify that they are indeed constants? The authors take us though the history of the ideas of physics, evoking major discoveries from Galileo and Newton to Planck and Einstein and raising questions provoked by ever more current accurate observations. They approach physics by way of its constants in order to distinguish the fundamental from the particular, and to recognise different physical forces, but these cannot be drawn together into one unique force,...
