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In the experiments below, {{math|Δ''α''}} represents the change in {{mvar|α}} over time, which can be computed by {{mvar|α}}<sub>prev</sub> − {{mvar|α}}<sub>now</sub> . If the fine-structure constant really is a constant, then any experiment should show that
<math display="block">\frac{\ \Delta \alpha\ }{\alpha} ~~ \overset{\underset{\mathsf{~def~}}{}}{=} ~~ \frac{\ \alpha _\mathrm{prev}-\alpha _\mathrm{now}\ }{\alpha_\mathrm{now}} ~~=~~ 0 ~,</math>
or as close to zero as experiment can measure. Any value far away from zero would indicate that {{mvar|α}} does change over time. So far, most experimental data is consistent with {{mvar|α}} being constant, up to 10 digits of accuracy.
=== Past rate of change ===
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