Nuclear Physics: In a Constants Restless Can Universe Vary

In what scientists sometimes call "the restless universe" are a few unchallenged constants that have become the bench marks of basic research. Among them are absolute zero, which represents cold so intense that there is no molecular movement, and the speed of light, which was written into Einstein's age-shaking equation, E = mc2. Constant too is the decay of radioactive materials at rates that cannot be altered by heat, cold, pressure, magnetism, or any other influence.*Such reliability means that ancient tombs can be dated by the decay of carbon 14; the age...