Freedom of Science

Every important unit in physics progresses through five stages. The following process is a constant of physics and cannot be changed.

1. No unit

Initially a proportionality new to physics is stated without a unit. In the 18th century physics textbooks stated “Newton’s law” as 1/R2. Just like that, no unit, no constant and no M&ms attached to it yet.

2. Personal units

Any length can be chosen as a unit to make measurements and accordingly in this early stage every physicist defines his own unit and tries to enforce it as the absolute true unit. Chaos ensues. Concerns are voiced for unification of physics.

3. Standard unit

At this stage a senior physicist defines a new unit by using a gadget he calls an experiment and enforces it as the true unit by his authority. His definition becomes the standard used by every practitioner and enters the textbooks under his name.

4. Constant of nature

The next generation learns about the standard unit in textbooks and believes it to be a constant of nature and eventually a physicist formally elevates the unit into the status of an absolute property of nature discovered by physicists.

5. Variable constant of nature

When a physical quantity is finally coupled to a constant of nature and becomes textbook material, active research ceases on it. But there will always be some enterprising physicists who will refuse to let such a valuable professional commodity as a constant of nature die a peaceful death in textbooks and they will re-open research on it by defining it as a variable constant. This is, of course, no different than re-opening research on the meter, the unit of length, by defining it as a variable constant of nature. Physicists who speculate about G, the unit of force, as a variable constant of nature look as foolish.

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