Magic Code α (alfa)

There is a secret code hidden inside the number 137. The α (alfa) constant is everywhere because it characterizes the strength of the electromagnetic force affecting charged particles such as electrons and protons. In our everyday world, everything is either gravity or electromagnetism. That’s why alpha is so important, if it were something like 1/138 instead of 1/137, stars would not be able to create carbon, and life as we know it wouldn’t exist. It commonly appears in formulas governing light and matter. Like in architecture, there’s the golden ratio, in the physics of low-energy matter —atoms, molecules, chemistry, biology— there’s a ratio of bigger things to smaller things, and those ratios tend to be powers of α, the fine-structure constant.

It is a magic number that comes to us with no understanding has a profound effect on everything from the way atoms orbit their nuclei to the way galaxies rotate. And yet, despite its importance, the origins of this number remain a mystery. In fact, some of the greatest minds in physics have devoted their careers to trying to understand it, and they still don't have all the answers. Perhaps one day we'll unlock the secret of this magic number. Until then, it remains one of the Universe's great mysteries. So next time you see the number 137, remember that it may hold clues to the universe's secret code.