Isn't it like saying why is circumference of a circle divided by it's diameter a number Pi?
It's because it just is!
Could that not be why the constants are a certain number?
Problem solved!
It's because it just is!
Could that not be why the constants are a certain number?
Problem solved!
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You might like to look into metascience, which is the way we talk about science. (Meta is a Greek word meaning "alongside". Metaphysics is also alongside physics, but the meaning is slightly different.) It is absolutely important that scientists know exactly what they are talking about when they talk. For example energy is precisely defined in nuclear physics: it is a wavelength of light. In any other topic it is not a physical unit at all, merely a philosophical concept. *
What about mass? Mass is defined two ways: 1) F = MA and 2) W = GM1M2/D^2. Are these two values the same? Scientists think they are, or at least they wish they would be, but no matter how carefully they measure they can't prove they are the same, not closer than three decimals. That is awfully sloppy by anybody's standards, and that is just one example of why physical constants have to be solved, maybe many times.
* Energy is casually defined as "capacity to do work". But work is disordering of energy. So the definition of energy is "capacity to do disordering of energy". But you can't use the concept to prove itself. So it's not a valid unit, merely a useful concept.
What about mass? Mass is defined two ways: 1) F = MA and 2) W = GM1M2/D^2. Are these two values the same? Scientists think they are, or at least they wish they would be, but no matter how carefully they measure they can't prove they are the same, not closer than three decimals. That is awfully sloppy by anybody's standards, and that is just one example of why physical constants have to be solved, maybe many times.
* Energy is casually defined as "capacity to do work". But work is disordering of energy. So the definition of energy is "capacity to do disordering of energy". But you can't use the concept to prove itself. So it's not a valid unit, merely a useful concept.
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It is BY DEFINITION that pi is the ratio of circumference to diameter.
It is what we MAKE UP as the answer. We choose to call it pi. You can call it whatever you want, but if you want to talk with other people, you call it pi.
What would the alternative be? That we just listed 3.1415926535 every time we talked about circles.
It is what we MAKE UP as the answer. We choose to call it pi. You can call it whatever you want, but if you want to talk with other people, you call it pi.
What would the alternative be? That we just listed 3.1415926535 every time we talked about circles.