Constants are supposed to be, well, constant. In physics there are a number of fundamental constants, such as the speed of light, Planck's constant, and the charge of an electron that are essential to ...

Detecting or constraining the possible time variations of fundamental physical constants is an important step toward a complete understanding of basic physics and hence the world in which we live. A ...

As cheat sheets go, it is a long one. Every four years, a task force of the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), headquartered in Paris, releases a short-hand description of the ...

The fundamental constants that govern the laws of nature are being determined with increasing accuracy. A new paper outlines the proceedings from this year's Workshop on the Determination of the ...

Tampa, Fla. – A fundamental number that affects the color of light emitted by atoms as well as all chemical interactions has not changed in more than 7 billion years, according to observations by a ...

Redefinition of the kilogram will not make the kilogram more precise, but it will make it more stable. A physical object can lose or gain atoms over time, or be destroyed, but constants remain the ...

Mathematical constants are built from the fabric of mathematics and can be determined a priori: Pi is based on the shape of a circle and can be calculated from numerous equations, e is from the growth ...

While quantum physics and general relativity don’t always play well together, they agree on important points, including that of the spectra of atoms. To wit: the spectrum of hydrogen shouldn’t depend ...

Schematic image of the methanol molecule. The black sphere represents the central carbon atom, the red one an oxygen atom and the grey spheres represent hydrogen atoms. The yellow arrow represents the ...