Magic Number: A Partial History of the Fine-Structure Constant

@article{Kragh2003MagicNA,
  title={Magic Number: A Partial History of the Fine-Structure Constant},
  author={Helge Kragh},
  journal={Archive for History of Exact Sciences},
  year={2003},
  volume={57},
  pages={395-431}
}
  • H. Kragh
  • Published 1 July 2003
  • Mathematics
  • Archive for History of Exact Sciences
L'A. demontre la place importante de constantes dans les formules et equations de la physique moderne, leur developpement jusqu'aux annees 1960 et leur role en physique theorique 
View on Springer
49 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
2
Background Citations
19
Methods Citations
1

49 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

The fine-structure constant before quantum mechanics
This paper focuses on the early history of the fine-structure constant, largely the period until 1925. Contrary to what is generally assumed, speculations concerning the interdependence of the… Expand
The fine structure constant
The article discusses the importance of the fine structure constant in quantum mechanics, along with the brief history of how it emerged. Although Sommerfelds idea of elliptical orbits has been… Expand
Some Mathematics Inspired by 137.036
The experimental value of the fine structure constant inverse from physics (approximately 137.036) is shown to also have an interesting role in pure mathematics. Specifically, 137.036 is shown to… Expand
Fine-structure constant from Sommerfeld to Feynman
The fine-structure constant, which determines the strength of the electromagnetic interaction, is briefly reviewed beginning with its introduction by Arnold Sommerfeld and also includes the interest… Expand
Fine-Structure Constant
  • H. Kragh
  • Physics, Computer Science
  • Compendium of Quantum Physics
  • 2009
TLDR
Although Feynman diagrams were developed as a tool for calculating the effects of weakly-interacting forces, the diagrams were quickly adapted during the 1950s and 1960s to treat all kinds of other interactions, from the strong nuclear force, to many-body interactions in condensed-matter physics, to gravitation, and beyond. Expand
The cubic equation’s relation to the fine structure constant, the mixing angles, and Weinberg angle
A special case of the cubic equation is shown to possess three unusually economical solutions. A minimal case associated with these solutions is then shown to yield a congruous set of numbers that… Expand
Physical Mathematics and The Fine-Structure Constant
Research into ancient physical structures, some having been known as the seven wonders of the ancient world, inspired new developments in the early history of mathematics. At the other end of this… Expand
Some bounds extracted from a quantum of area
Asking very elementary relativistic quantum mechanics to meet quantum of area and time, it is possible to derive at a general level: a) the seesaw bound for the mass of neutrinos, and b) the need of… Expand
Fine-Structure Constant from Golden Ratio Geometry
After a brief review of the golden ratio in history and our previous exposition of the fine-structure constant and equations with the exponential function, the fine-structure constant is studied in… Expand
A New Theoretical Derivation of the Fine Structure Constant
The present paper is devoted to a new derivation of the expression given already earlier for the fine structure constant α. This expression is exactly the same as that what we published several times… Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...