White dwarf star throws light on possible variability of a constant of Nature
Thursday, July 4, 2013 - 13:20
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers have studied a distant star where gravity is more than 30,000 times greater than on Earth to test the controversial theory that one of the constants of Nature is not a constant. The researchers used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the strength of the electromagnetic force -- known as alpha -- on a white dwarf star. The results do not contradict the variable-constant theory.