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From: gwyn%brl-vld@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re:  Yet another prelims problem. - (nf)
Message-ID: <17118@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Mar-84 04:02:26 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.17118
Posted: Thu Mar  1 04:02:26 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 4-Mar-84 03:59:38 EST
Lines: 13

From:      Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) 

If one believes that the fine-structure constant can be computed from
first principles, as did Eddington, then for it to be exactly 1/137
would not be possible.  For one to believe otherwise, he would have
to believe that k, e, h, and c have no necessary relationship to one
another.  I recall that Dirac was quite taken by the "pure number"
constants of physics.

P.S.  Eddington's calculation at first predicted exactly 1/137 for
alpha but as more determinations came in he "renormalized" it to get
the right answer.  I find his reasoning too hard to follow to tell if
it was totally bogus or not.