Numerology

Numerology is the study of the purported mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and the character or action of physical objects and living things.

Numerology in science

Numerology is normally considered antithetical to science, however some scientists have, from time to time, proposed hypotheses based upon numerological observations.

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The physicist Arthur Eddington at one time thought the fine-structure constant α, which had been measured at approximately 1/137, should be exactly 1/137, based on aesthetic and numerological arguments. Careful measurements have shown this not to be the case: the value of α is currently estimated at 1/137.035 999 11(46).

Related Topics:
Arthur Eddington - Fine-structure constant

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When another (erroneous) measurement showed α to have a value nearer 1/136, Eddington constructed an argument relating the number 136 to the Eddington number, his best estimate of the number of electrons in the Universe.

Related Topics:
Eddington number - Electron

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Mathematician James Gilson has suggested that the fine-structure constant, α, can be mathematically determined to be

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: lpha = rac{cos left(pi/137 ight)}{137} rac{ an left(pi/(137 cdot 29) ight)}{pi/(137 cdot 29)} pprox 1/137.0359997867

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to a very large degree of accuracy. 29 and 137 are respectively the 10th and 33rd prime numbers. While this was, before 2002 CODATA, within the standard uncertainty of measurement for α, it is no longer as the CODATA value has been revised sufficiently to exclude this mathematical value.

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