Symbols, units, nomenclature and fundamental constants in physics

Abstract

PREFACE TO THE 2010 REPRINT IUPAP-25 (SUNAMCO 87-1) The 1987 revision of the SUNAMCO ‘Red Book’ has for nearly a quarter of a century providedphysicists with authoritative guidance on the use of symbols, units and nomenclature. As such, itis cited as a primary reference by the IUPAC ‘Green Book’ (Quantities, Units and Symbols inPhysical Chemistry, 3rd edition, E. R. Cohen et al., RSC Publishing, Cambridge, 2007) and theSI Brochure (The International System of Units (SI), 8th edition, BIPM, S`evres, 2006).This electronic version has been prepared from the original TeX files and reproduces thecontent of the printed version, although there are some minor differences in formatting andlayout. In issuing this version, we recognise that there are areas of physics which have cometo prominence over the last two decades which are not covered and also that some materialhas been superseded. In particular, the values of the fundamental constants presented insection 6 have been superseded by more recent recommended values from the CODATA TaskGroup on Fundamental Constants. The currently recommended values can be obtained athttp://physics.nist.gov/constants. SUNAMCO has established a Committee for Revision of theRed Book. Suggestions for material to be included in a revised version can be directed to theSUNAMCO Secretary at stephen.lea@npl.co.uk. Reprinted from Physica A 146 (1987) 1–68.