29 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Delicate Balance of the Forces of the Universe
the universe would be a vastly different place if the properties of the matter and force particles were even moderately changed. For example, the existence of the stable nuclei forming the hundred or so elements of the periodic table hinges delicately on the ratio between the strengths of the strong and electromagnetic forces. The protons crammed together in atomic nuclei all repel one another electromagnetically; the strong force acting among their constituent quarks, thankfully, overcomes t...If they were slightly different, the Universe wouldn't look the way it does.
13 DEC 2011 by ideonexus
The Precarious Laws of Nature
By examining the model universes we generate when the theories of physics are altered in certain ways, one can study the effect of changes to physical law in a methodical manner. It turns out that it is not only the strengths of the strong nuclear force and the electromagnetic force that are made to order for our existence. Most of the fundamental constants in our theories appear fine tuned in the sense that if they were altered by only modest amounts, the universe would be qualitatively diff...If the laws of nature were different by a very small amount, the Universe would not work in such a way as to produce life.