Dirac's Cosmology and Mach's Principle
@article{Dicke1961DiracsCA,
title={Dirac's Cosmology and Mach's Principle},
author={Robert H. Dicke},
journal={Nature},
year={1961},
volume={192},
pages={440-441}
}THE dimensionless gravitational coupling constant with mp the mass of some elementary particle, for definiteness taken as the proton, is such a small number that its significance has long been questioned. Thus Eddington1 considered that all the dimensionless physical constants, including this one, could be evaluated as simple mathematical expressions. Dirac2 considered that such an odd number must be related to other numbers of similar size, characterizing the structure of the universe. However…
238 Citations
The proton half life and the Dirac hypothesis
- PhysicsNature
- 1979
Many notable physicists have been fascinated by the ubiquity of large dimensionless numbers formed from the physical parameters controlling the large scale structure of the Universe1–10. For example,…
Constants and cosmology: The nature and origin of fundamental constants in astrophysics and particle physics
- Physics
- 1992
We ask about the nature and origin of the fundamental constants of astrophysics and particle physics, notably the speed of light c, the gravitational constant G, Planck's constant h, and the…
Stoney Scale and Large Number Coincidences
- Physics
- 2007
The Stoney scale, its characteristics and theoretical tendencies are argued to be consistent with Einstein’s theory of gravitational ether and with the Stochastic Electrodynamic theory of…
COSMOLOGICAL COINCIDENCES IN THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE
- Physics
- 2020
In the study of dimensionless combinations of fundamental physical constants and cosmological quantities, it was found that some of them reach enormous values. In addition, the order of magnitude of…
The Numbers Universe: An Outline of the Dirac/Eddington Numbers as Scaling Factors
- Physics
- 2008
The large number coincidences that fascinated theorists such as Eddington and Dirac are shown here to be a specific example of a general set of scaling factors defining universes in which fundamental…
The Fine-Structure Constant: From Eddington’s Time to Our Own
- Physics, Education
- 1986
Of all the fundamental constants none has drawn more interest, seemed more intriguing, and excited more speculation than the fine-structure constant α which is defined as the square of the…
Cosmogony and the magnitude of the dimensionless gravitational coupling constant
- PhysicsNature
- 1977
SIMPLE arguments involving gravitational fragmentation indicate that for the Universe to contain galaxies and stable nuclear-burning stars, the dimensionless gravitational coupling constant αg(=…
Exact cosmological solution with particle creation in JBD theory
- Physics
- 1978
Exact solutions are sought by taking the generated particles of spin 1/2 (according to the creation rate of Schäfer and Dehnen [1]) as matter sources of the Cosmological equations of JBD theory.…
Varying Constants, Gravitation and Cosmology
- PhysicsLiving reviews in relativity
- 2011
The relations between the constants, the tests of the local position invariance and of the universality of free fall are detailed, and the unification mechanisms and the relation between the variation of different constants are described.
References
SHOWING 1-3 OF 3 REFERENCES
Mach's principle and a relativistic theory of gravitation
- Physics, Philosophy
- 1961
The role of Mach's principle in physics is discussed in relation to the equivalence principle. The difficulties encountered in attempting to incorporate Mach's principle into general relativity are…
A new basis for cosmology
- GeologyProceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
- 1938
The modern study of cosmology is dominated by Hubble’s observations of a shift to the red in the spectra of the spiral nebulae—the farthest parts of the universe—indicating that they are receding…