Originally posted by frogstomp Again I must stress that it's still speculation that the gravitational constant might have other possible values.
Would saying gravity could have other values be like saying that Pi could have a different values in another universe? Or that squaring a circle could be possible in another universe?
Originally posted by Coletti Would saying gravity could have other values be like saying that Pi could have a different values in another universe? Or that squaring a circle could be possible in another universe?
No, because the examples you give are based on the definitions of the concepts themselves; i.e. it is impossible to change them in the manner you describe. Whereas gravity is a force and there is nothing in its definition that requires it to be of the strength that it is in this universe.
Originally posted by no1marauder No, not really. The scientific possibility that the force strengths could be different if they were left to random chance does not preclude the possibility that they were not the result of random chance.
2nd Question: I don't know. I have been careful to use the word "designed" in quotes; perhaps the universe itself is in some sense sen ...[text shortened]... r the universe and/or its designer (if there is one) existed somewhere before they existed here.
Now since the structure of the theory is unique, we can work out (not postulate) what are the types of interaction between these particles. Astonishingly, at low energies the interactions are precisely of the type appearing in the Standard Model, and as a welcome bonus, we also get the gravitational interaction that Einstein originally discovered. So string theory predicts, roughly speaking, the right types of particles and the right types of interactions among them. The famous mathematical inconsistency -- which for decades made it impossible to incorporate quantum gravity in a theory along with the other interactions -- is conspicuous by its absence in string theory. It is almost as if gravity needs strings in order to exist! "
Originally posted by Coletti Would saying gravity could have other values be like saying that Pi could have a different values in another universe? Or that squaring a circle could be possible in another universe?
i wouldnt' jump to that conclusion. gravity is a force , the others are manifestations of our number systems
Originally posted by frogstomp i wouldnt' jump to that conclusion. gravity is a force , the others are manifestations of our number systems
I'm wondering though if we will find that the Gravitational Constant is what it is like the definition of Pi is the ratio of the circumference to diameter of a circle. That ratio is fixed by definition. Does string theory gives us a measure of gravity as a function of other physical constants, or is it also empirical.
Originally posted by Coletti I'm wondering though if we will find that the Gravitational Constant is what it is like the definition of Pi is the ratio of the circumference to diameter of a circle. That ratio is fixed by definition. Does string theory gives us a measure of gravity as a function of other physical constants, or is it also empirical.