CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 1998

TLDR

The 1998 CODATA set replaces the 1986 recommended values. This paper presents the 1998 self‑consistent set of fundamental constants and conversion factors for international use. The authors adjust a subset of constants using all data available through 31 December 1998 to derive the complete 1998 set. The new adjustment, based on data up to 31 December 1998, significantly improves uncertainties—reducing them by factors of 5 to 12, and in some cases 160—compared to 1986, with differences generally within twice the 1986 uncertainties, and the updated constants are available at physics.nist.gov/constants.

Abstract

This paper gives the 1998 self-consistent set of values of the basic constants and conversion factors of physics and chemistry recommended by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) for international use. Further, it describes in detail the adjustment of the values of the subset of constants on which the complete 1998 set of recommended values is based. The 1998 set replaces its immediate predecessor recommended by CODATA in 1986. The new adjustment, which takes into account all of the data available through 31 December 1998, is a significant advance over its 1986 counterpart. The standard uncertainties (i.e., estimated standard deviations) of the new recommended values are in most cases about 1/5 to 1/12 and in some cases 1/160 times the standard uncertainties of the corresponding 1986 values. Moreover, in almost all cases the absolute values of the differences between the 1998 values and the corresponding 1986 values are less than twice the standard uncertainties of the 1986 values. The new set of recommended values is available on the World Wide Web at physics.nist.gov/constants.