In physics, we have a bunch of constants that are used in models to explain how the world works. These are fixed numbers that we plug into equations along with our variables. For example, the universal gravitational constant is used in predicting the motion of any falling object. That’s G = 6.6743 × 10−11 m3/kg⋅s2.
What’s so weird about these constants is that they have very precise values that seem kind of random. I mean, why 6.6743 and not 6.6744? All we know is that they work. They’re not derived theoretically, just measured, with more and more precision over time as our instruments improve.
Last week I talked about the electric constant,