Constants library
19 values, each with its units, its uncertainty, and where it came from.
Universal & Atomic 14
Planck constant exact
J·sThe quantum of action, exactly 6.626 070 15 × 10⁻³⁴ J·s — the constant that has defined the kilogram since 2019.
Reduced Planck constant (Dirac constant) exact
J·sPlanck's constant divided by 2π, 1.054 571 817 × 10⁻³⁴ J·s — the natural quantum of angular momentum and spin.
Fine-structure constant measured
dimensionlessThe dimensionless strength of the electromagnetic interaction, 0.007 297 352 564 — roughly 1/137, and pure number with no units at all.
Inverse fine-structure constant measured
dimensionlessThe reciprocal of the fine-structure constant, 137.035 999 177 — famously near 137, and definitively not equal to it.
Hartree energy measured
JThe atomic unit of energy, 4.359 744 722 × 10⁻¹⁸ J or 27.211 386 eV — twice the Rydberg and the currency of quantum chemistry.
Compton wavelength of the electron measured
mλ_C = h/(m_e c) = 2.426 310 235 × 10⁻¹² m — the wavelength shift of a photon scattered through 90° by a free electron.
Reduced Compton wavelength of the electron measured
mħ/(m_e c) = 3.861 592 674 × 10⁻¹³ m — the Compton wavelength divided by 2π, and the natural length scale of the Dirac equation.
Electron g-factor measured
dimensionlessThe electron's magnetic moment in Bohr magnetons, −2.002 319 304 360 92 — the most precisely tested prediction in all of science.
Quantum of circulation measured
m²/sh/(2m_e) = 3.636 947 547 × 10⁻⁴ m²/s — the ratio of Planck's constant to mass that atom interferometers measure directly.
Planck length measured
m√(ħG/c³) = 1.616 255 × 10⁻³⁵ m — the length scale where quantum mechanics and gravity must both apply, and neither alone works.
Planck mass measured
kg√(ħc/G) = 2.176 434 × 10⁻⁸ kg — about 22 micrograms, the only Planck unit on a human scale, and the mass where gravity meets quantum.
Planck time measured
s√(ħG/c⁵) = 5.391 247 × 10⁻⁴⁴ s — the time light takes to cross a Planck length, and the earliest instant physics can describe.
Planck temperature measured
K√(ħc⁵/G)/k = 1.416 784 × 10³² K — the temperature at which thermal photons carry the Planck energy and gravity becomes quantum.
Planck energy measured
Jm_P c² = 1.956 × 10⁹ J, or 1.221 × 10¹⁹ GeV — the energy scale of quantum gravity, and about the kinetic energy of a car on the motorway.
Electromagnetic 5
Magnetic flux quantum exact
WbThe smallest unit of magnetic flux that can thread a superconducting loop, h/2e — exact since the 2019 SI redefinition fixed h and e.
Josephson constant exact
Hz/VThe frequency-to-voltage ratio 2e/h of a Josephson junction — 483.6 THz per volt, and the modern practical realisation of the volt.
von Klitzing constant exact
ΩThe quantum Hall resistance h/e² ≈ 25.813 kΩ, exact since 2019 and the reference by which the ohm is now realised worldwide.
Conductance quantum exact
SThe conductance 2e²/h of a single ballistic quantum channel, about 77.5 μS — the step size in nanoscale wires and atomic point contacts.
Inverse conductance quantum exact
ΩHalf the von Klitzing constant, h/2e² ≈ 12.906 kΩ — the resistance of one perfect ballistic channel and the floor for any nanoscale wire.