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# Why Is 1/137 One of the Greatest Unsolved Problems
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/pbs-space-time/episode/why-is-1137-one-of-the-greatest-unsolved-problems-adec86/
- Published: 2024-04-02T23:12:18.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-21T13:46:44.000Z
- Description: In physics, the Fine Structure Constant is one the strangest numbers.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: PBS Space Time, Season 8, Episode 28, #ZZZ_Episode_24857ae1-5751-4c6d-94ee-306f28c5463c, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_ae70f836-13b6-4c9d-b61f-99f7b8bc29eb, #v1.16

The Fine Structure Constant is one the strangest numbers in all of physics. It’s the job of physicists to worry about numbers, but there’s one number that physicists have stressed about more than any other. That number is 0.00729735256 - approximately 1/137\. This is the fine structure constant, and it appears everywhere in our equations of quantum physics, and we’re still trying to figure out why.