Is Alpha, like Pi, a Fundamental Constant?

Is alpha, like pi, a fundamental constant, or does it change over time? Pi, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter (pi can be defined in other ways too) doesn't seem to be changing, but alpha, the symbol for the fine structure constant, might be.

Alpha is a measure of the intrinsic strength of the electromagnetic force and thus determines how strong an atom is bound and what kind of light is absorbed or emitted by the atom when an electron inside the atom moves from one internal quantum state to another.

In 1999 a group of scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia reported some positive evidence that alpha was not staying the same (See Update 410). The evidence for a changing alpha--at the level of a part in 100,000, according to a new report being issued by the same group--consists of the spacings of pairs of absorption lines of metal atoms in gas clouds in front of quasars at various redshifts. The spacings are proportional to alpha squared. The new observations suggest that alpha is growing bigger.

This, if confirmed by further tests, runs counter to the law which prescribes that elasticized objects lose their holding power with the years. Swimsuits might droop with age, but atoms would get stronger as time goes by. (Webb et al., Physical Review Letters, 27 August.)