Appendix A. Useful Information
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- Table 1, Important Constants
- Table 2, Submicroscopic Masses
- Table 3, Solar System Data
- Table 4, Metric Prefixes for Powers of Ten and Their Symbols
- Table 5, The Greek Alphabet
- Table 6, SI units
- Table 7, Selected British Units
- Table 8, Other Units
- Table 9, Useful Formulae
| Table 1. Important Constants[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Best Value | Approximate Value |
| c | Speed of light in vacuum | 2.99792458 × 108 m/s | 3.00 × 108 m/s |
| G | Gravitational constant | 6.67384(80) × 10−11 N · m2/kg2 | 6.67 × 10−11 N · m2/kg2 |
| NA | Avogadro’s number | 6.02214129(27) × 1023 | 6.02 × 1023 |
| k | Boltzmann’s constant | 1.3806488(13) × 10−23 J/K | 1.38 × 10−23 J/K |
| R | Gas constant | 8.3144621(75) J/mol · K | 8.31 J/mol · K = 1.99 cal/mol · K = 0.0821 atm · L/mol · K |
| σ | Stefan-Boltzmann constant | 5.670373(21) × 10−8 W/m2 · K | 5.67 × 10−8 W/m2 · K |
| k | Coulomb force constant | 8.987551788… × 109 N · m2/C2 | 8.99 × 109 N · m2/C2 |
| qe | Charge on electron | −1.602176565(35) × 10−19 C | −1.60 × 10−19 C |
| ε0 | Permittivity of free space | 8.854187817… × 10−12 C2/N · m2 | 8.85 × 10−12 C2/N · m2 |
| µ0 | Permeability of free space | 4π × 10−7 T · m/A | 1.26 × 10−6 T · m/A |
| h | Planck’s constant | 6.62606957(29) × 10−34 J · s | 6.63 × 10−34 J · s |
| Table 2. Submicroscopic Masses[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Best Value | Approximate Value |
| me | Electron mass | 9.10938291(40) × 10−31 kg | 9.11 × 10−31 kg |
| mp | Proton mass | 1.672621777(74) × 10−27 kg | 1.6726 × 10−27 kg |
| mn | Neutron mass | 1.674927351(74) × 10−27 kg | 1.6749 × 10−27 kg |
| u | Atomic mass unit | 1.660538921(73) × 10−27 kg | 1.6605 × 10−27 kg |
| Table 3. Solar System Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sun | mass | 1.99 × 1030 kg |
| average radius | 6.96 × 108 m | |
| Earth-sun distance (average) | 1.496 × 1011 m | |
| Earth | mass | 5.9736 × 1024 kg |
| average radius | 6.376 × 106 m | |
| orbital period | 3.16 × 107 s | |
| Moon | mass | 7.35 × 1022 kg |
| average radius | 1.74 × 106 m | |
| orbital period (average) | 2.36 × 106 s | |
| Earth-moon distance (average) | 3.84 × 108 m |
| Table 4. Metric Prefixes for Powers of Ten and Their Symbols | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prefix | Symbol | Value | Prefix | Symbol | Value |
| tera | T | 1012 | deci | d | 10−1 |
| giga | G | 109 | centi | c | 10−2 |
| mega | M | 106 | milli | m | 10−3 |
| kilo | k | 103 | micro | µ | 10−6 |
| hecto | h | 102 | nano | n | 10−9 |
| deka | da | 101 | pico | p | 10−12 |
| — | — | 100 (= 1) | femto | f | 10−15 |
| Table 5. The Greek Alphabet | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | Α | α | Eta | Η | η | Nu | Ν | ν |
| Beta | Β | β | Tau | Τ | τ | Theta | Θ | θ |
| Xi | Ξ | ξ | Upsilon | Υ | υ | Gamma | Γ | γ |
| Iota | Ι | ι | Omicron | Ο | ο | Phi | φ | ϕ |
| Delta | Δ | δ | Kappa | Κ | κ | Pi | Π | π |
| Chi | Χ | χ | Epsilon | Ε | ε | Lambda | Λ | λ |
| Rho | Ρ | ρ | Psi | Ψ | ψ | Zeta | Ζ | ζ |
| Mu | Μ | μ | Sigma | Σ | σ | Omega | Ω | ω |
| Table 6. SI Units | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Entity | Abbreviation | Name | |
| Fundamental units | Length | m | meter |
| Mass | kg | kilogram | |
| Time | s | second | |
| Current | A | ampere | |
| Supplementary unit | Angle | rad | radian |
| Derived units | Force | N = kg ⋅ m/s2 | newton |
| Energy | J = kg ⋅ m2/s2 | joule | |
| Power | W = J/s | watt | |
| Pressure | Pa = N/m2 | pascal | |
| Frequency | Hz = 1/s | hertz | |
| Electronic potential | V = J/C | volt | |
| Capacitance | F = C/V | farad | |
| Charge | C = s ⋅ A | coulomb | |
| Resistance | Ω = V/A | ohm | |
| Magnetic field | T = N/(A ⋅ m) | tesla | |
| Nuclear decay rate | Bq = 1/s | becquerel |
| Table 7. Selected British Units | |
|---|---|
| Length | 1 inch (in.) = 2.54 cm (exactly) |
| 1 foot (ft) = 0.3048 m | |
| 1 mile (mi) = 1.609 km | |
| Force | 1 pound (lb) = 4.448 N |
| Energy | 1 British thermal unit (Btu) = 1.055 × 103 J |
| Power | 1 horsepower (hp) = 746 W |
| Pressure | 1 lb/in2 = 6.895 × 103 Pa |
| Table 8. Other Units | |
|---|---|
| Length | 1 light year (ly) = 9.46 × 1015 m |
| 1 astronomical unit (au) = 1.50 × 1011 m | |
| 1 nautical mile = 1.852 km | |
| 1 angstrom (Å) = 10−10 m | |
| Area | 1 acre (ac) = 4.05 × 103 m2 |
| 1 square foot (ft2) = 9.29 × 10−2 m2 | |
| 1 barn (b) = 10−28 m2 | |
| Volume | 1 liter (L) = 10−3 m3 |
| 1 U.S. gallon (gal) = 3.785 × 10−3 m3 | |
| Mass | 1 solar mass = 1.99 × 1030 kg |
| 1metric ton = 103 kg | |
| 1 atomic mass unit (u) = 1.6605 × 10−27 kg | |
| Time | 1 year (y) = 3.16 × 107 s |
| 1 day (d) = 86,400 s | |
| Speed | 1 mile per hour (mph) = 1.609 km/h |
| 1 nautical mile per hour (naut) = 1.852 km/h | |
| Angle | 1 degree (°) = 1.745 × 10−2 rad |
| 1 minute of arc (′) = 1/60 degree | |
| 1 second of arc (′′) = 1/60 minute of arc | |
| 1 grad = 1.571 × 10−2 rad | |
| Energy | 1 kiloton TNT (kT) = 4.2 × 1012 J |
| 1 kilowatt hour (kW ⋅ h) = 3.60 × 106 J | |
| 1 food calorie (kcal) = 4186 J | |
| 1 calorie (cal) = 4.186 J | |
| 1 electron volt (eV) = 1.60 × 10−19 J | |
| Pressure | 1 atmosphere (atm) = 1.013 × 105 Pa |
| 1 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) = 133.3 Pa | |
| 1 torricelli (torr) = 1 mm Hg = 133.3 Pa | |
| Nuclear decay rate | 1 curie (Ci) = 3.70 × 1010 Bq |
| Table 9. Useful Formulae | |
|---|---|
| Circumference of a circle with radius r or diameter d | |
| Area of a circle with radius r or diameter d | |
| Area of a sphere with radius r | |
| Volume of a sphere with radius r |
- Stated values are according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty, www.physics.nist.gov/cuu (accessed May 18, 2012). Values in parentheses are the uncertainties in the last digits. Numbers without uncertainties are exact as defined. ↵
- Stated values are according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty, www.physics.nist.gov/cuu (accessed May 18, 2012). Values in parentheses are the uncertainties in the last digits. Numbers without uncertainties are exact as defined. ↵