Numbers play a significant role in our daily lives, from determining our daily routines to financial matters. However, in the realm of cosmology, there are extraordinary numbers that surpass the mundane. These numbers hold great significance in unraveling the workings of the universe and the enigmatic puzzles that continue to perplex physicists. Here are five remarkable quantities that stand out:
10-120: Why is the vacuum energy so small?
Visualize shrinking a person to the size of a proton and repeating this process eight times. The resulting miniature human would be 10-120 times smaller than its original size. This number is incredibly minute, far smaller than the Planck length, the fundamental unit of distance where the classical concept of space loses meaning.
In natural occurrences, extreme ratios between sizes, whether small or large, are uncommon. When they do arise, physicists naturally seek explanations. While there are no humans 10-120 times larger than the average person, this tiny number emerges when comparing observations with our most robust and extensively tested understanding of the universe: quantum field theory. Specifically, it relates to the concept of vacuum energy.
