Editing Fine-structure constant (section)

== Anthropic explanation ==
The [[anthropic principle]] is an argument about the reason the fine-structure constant has the value it does: stable matter, and therefore life and intelligent beings, could not exist if its value were very different.  One example is that, if modern grand unified theories are correct, then {{mvar|α}} needs to be between around 1/180 and 1/85 to have proton decay to be slow enough for life to be possible.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last=Barrow |first=John D.
 |year=2001
 |title=Cosmology, life, and the anthropic principle
 |journal=[[Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences]]
 |volume=950  |issue=1  |pages=139–153
 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb02133.x
 |pmid=11797744  |bibcode=2001NYASA.950..139B
 |s2cid=33396683
}}</ref>