Monday, December 21, 2020

Fundamental constant measured at highest precision yet

Amazing stuff!

"The most precise measurement ever of the fine-structure constant ... The relatively low value of α – it is approximately equal to 1/137 – implies that the electromagnetic interaction is weak. The main consequence of this is that electrons orbit some distance from their atoms, so they are free to form chemical bonds and build up molecules. ...
Their result shows that α has a value of 1/137.035999206(11) – a measurement that, with an accuracy of 81 parts per trillion, is 2.5 times more exact than the previous milestone, which was made in 2018 by Holger Müller and colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley, US. ...
the Paris result “confirms that the electron has no substructure and is truly an elementary particle”"

"The standard model of particle physics is remarkably successful because it is consistent with (almost) all experimental results. However, it fails to explain dark matter, dark energy and the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the Universe.  ..."
A layperson may ask how successful the standard model actually is?

"... the fine-structure constant α is of particular importance because it sets the strength of the electromagnetic interaction between light and charged elementary particles, such as the electron and the muon. ..."

Fundamental constant measured at highest precision yet – Physics World

Here is the respective research paper:

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