On the probabilities of the formation of the Universe (1039)

Silk-screen printed card sets

Dirac's hypothesis of large numbers relates to an observation made by Paul Dirac in 1937 concerning the relationship between the size scales of the universe and the scales of elementary particles. It is, historically, the first attempt to connect two a priori very distant fields of physics, namely cosmology and particle physics.

Dirac wonders about strange coincidences found between the values of different physical constants (the relationship between the gravitational force - which unites the whole Universe - and the electrostatic force - which holds atoms in molecules - in particular) and interprets the results. From his observations, the number 1039 is reccurent. Dirac will be accused by his contemporaries of numerology. The card game On the probabilities of the creation of the Universe (1039) takes up the fundamentals of the anecdote.

Composed of 35 numbered cards, the aim of the game is to draw cards from the deck in order to reconstruct the different stages of the formation of the Universe in the right order.

With each mistake, the player must shuffle the cards again and start from scratch.

The probability of obtaining the complete sequence is 35! i.e. 1039.