https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2009-01038-2
Universal constants, standard models and fundamental metrology
Laboratoire de Recherche sur les Sciences de la Matière (LARSIM) CEA-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
Taking into account four universal constants, namely the Planck's constant h, the velocity of light c, the constant of gravitation G and the Boltzmann's constant k leads to structuring theoretical physics in terms of three theories each taking into account a pair of constants: the quantum theory of fields (h and c), the general theory of relativity (c and G) and quantum statistics (h and k). These three theories are not yet unified but, together, they underlie the standard models that allow a satisfactory phenomenological description of all experimental or observational data, in particle physics and in cosmology and they provide, through the modern interpretation of quantum physics, fundamental metrology with a reliable theoretical basis.
© EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag, 2009
