Some quantities in scientific theory are set arbitrarily according to measured results rather than by calculation (for example, the
Planck constant). However, in the case of these
fundamental constants, their arbitrariness is usually explicit. To suggest that other calculations may include a "fudge factor" may suggest that the calculation has been somehow tampered with to make results give a misleadingly good match to experimental data.
Cosmological constant In theoretical physics, when
Albert Einstein originally tried to produce a
general theory of relativity, he found that the theory seemed to predict the gravitational collapse of the universe: it seemed that the universe should be collapsing, and to produce a model in which the universe was
static and stable (which seemed to Einstein at the time to be the "proper" result), he introduced an expansionist variable (called the
cosmological constant), whose sole purpose was to cancel out the cumulative effects of gravitation. He later called this "the biggest blunder of my life". == See also ==