Word: constant
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...constant of gravitation...
...cosmical constant (of large-scale repulsion...
...assumption that these quantities are constants is more important than the exact determination of their values. Atom-smashers, cosmic ray observers and other experimentalists might not be seriously disturbed if the constants were not constant, but wavered imperceptibly within the limits of experimental error. But such a thing would have tremendous repercussions on the vast theoretical structure of Quantum Mechanics and Relativity, indeed on the whole philosophy of physics...
Expanding Universe? The question of constants is closely bound up with the magnificent conception of the Expanding Universe. Half way out to the fringes of the visible universe, the nebulae or star-galaxies appear to be rushing away from Earth at speeds up to 25,000 miles per second. The light from these nebulae is shifted toward the red end of the spectrum and ordinarily, such a shift indicates receding velocity. But the speeds are so big that many astronomers consider the Expanding Universe may be an illusion, have sought some other cause for the redshift in the spectrum...
...thing this constant uproar proved was that physical science is still lusty, ready to discard old theories if they get in the way of others newer and more useful...