14 DAY TRIAL // Based on the latest studies, experts with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently published their internationally recommended values of the fundamental constants of nature. The new numbers bring some modifications for the values of gravity and electromagnetism.
According to the researchers, the electromagnetic force may in fact be a little stronger than past studies suggested, while gravity may in fact be a little bit weaker. Measurements related to the size of the smallest quantum of energy have also been refined further.
Scientific measurements and advances take place every year, but it would be impractical for all constants related to famous or less-famous measures to be changed once every 12 months. As such, experts only revise these values once every 4 years.
Constants included in the classification range from the speed of light to the Wien frequency displacement law constant. The values agreed upon every 4 years then make it into the International System of Units (SI), which is the global encyclopedia of values.
In recent times, experts have taken a liking to redefining the most basic units of measurement – such as the kilogram for mass and the ampere for electricity – based only on fundamental constants. For example, distance can be thought of as a function of time, or vice-versa.
In charge of conducting these highly-abstract modifications is an international group called the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) Task Group on Fundamental Constants.
“Often the biggest news in a fundamental constant value is a reduced uncertainty – scientists know the value better,” a press release from NIST reads.
“The uncertainty in the value of the fine-structure constant alpha (α = 7.297 352 5698 x 10-3), which dictates the strength of the electromagnetic force, has been slashed in half to 0.3 parts per billion (ppb),” the statement goes on to say.
“Also improved is the Planck constant h, which defines the size of the smallest possible "quantum" (packet) of energy, and is central to efforts to redefine the SI unit of mass,” the document shows.
“The latest value of h (6.626 069 57 x 10-34 joule seconds) takes into account a measurement of the number of atoms in a highly enriched silicon sphere. That value currently disagrees with the other fundamental method for determining h, known as the watt-balance,” the NIST team concludes.