Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken G
True, but the question persists, why is that speed limit equal to c? Or as I've put it above, why is 1/c the conversion factor from distance to time that makes the rate invariant? We still have no idea. Could that number ever come from some other number, or would it always just have to be inserted as an observed parameter?
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Well, obviously the value of
c can be derived from other constants (eg. the permittivity and permeability of vacuum), but then you have to measure those. The real question is rather how many free parameters a "theory of everything" would have. The number is given by nature, but exactly which those parameters are would be up to how we chose to formulate the theory.
