Chapter 18

      Kean starts off the chapter in an already joking manner, with a title that pokes fun at the "ridiculous" precision with which scientists make their measurements. He talks about the Kilogram in France, which is a two inch wide cylinder made mostly of platinum. It weighs exactly one kilogram and serves as the universal standard that every country's knockoff version is compared to. He moves onto the subject of the atomic clock. The US developed atomic clocks that used cesium because scientists realized that measuring time by the rotation of an arbitrary rock around an unremarkable star was not the best idea. The fine structure of the electrons affects them by causing them to jump either lower or higher, then after purging one of those groups, they are isolated in a chamber and exposed to microwaves. This causes them to release photons of light. The atomic clock measures time by counting photons. Cesium is used because it has only one electron on its outermost shell. Scientists counted the amount of photons counted in a standard second, and use that to measure a second as opposed to the astronomical measurement. It is extremely important to have an exact measurement for the second because so many things in science happen in the fraction of a second, making an exact measurement of time vital to accurate scientific findings.

      Kean starts to talk about the concept of constants. He refers to the fine structure constant as alpha in this section. He states that had alpha been higher or lower, the universe as we know it might not exist. It has been theorized that the alpha constant has actually changed since the beginning of the universe and, on top of that, is growing. Some Australian astronomers hypothesize that the alpha constant has changed by .001% over the last 10 billion years. Such a small change does not seem like something to fret about, but the mere idea of a constant being subject to change is infuriating. The idea of inconsistent constants brings with it the probablilty that so many important findings could be completely wrong. Scientists love constants just as much as mathematicians love variables, and as similar as the two fields are, experts in both areas appreciate the differences. A constant that varies is a paradox, or logically unacceptable and self-contradicting.
     I liked that the chapter adressed the fundamentals of science: measurements. The question of how scientist could be so accurate always plagued me, but I brushed it off as something that simply was and couldn't be explained. I also like how Kean touched on the possubility of constants being variables, which would throw the scientific community into disarray and there would possibly be riots. I also found it interesting how the entire world glorifies a single French cylinder, a platinum baguette, and yearns to duplicate it. Nonetheless, I strongly prefer the measurement of mass over the measurement of weight. The latter just makes more sense physics-wise. I did not like that there was no disappearing spoon, it's chapter 18 and I'm losing hope.
     I learned how atomic clocks work and why cesium is the best option for it. I also learned about fine structure and its effect on the jumping of electrons and how the alpha constant could possibly be constantly growing, which is a bit terrifying considering that constants aren't supposed to change at all. I learned that dense platinum and iridium are used in the Kilogram for various reasons including; minimizing surface area exposed to air, to minimize the buildup of parasitic static electricity, and to dampen the chances of disaster when the cylinder meets a human hand. If I had a bae I would tell them that their concept of time is not real because it is based upon the rotation of a meaningless rock around a mediocre star.