Universal Constants

Students are generally taught to perform dimensional analysis by setting universal constants equal to 1, which takes advantage of physical correlations that arbitrary units leave obscured. A more insightful way of teaching these correlations is to restate compound-dimensional constants as Planck units in each unit dimension. This gives a more granular form of the equations and correlations.

The 2022 CODATA adjustment of Fundamental Physical Constants published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology shows that the speed of light and Planck constant can be expressed as Planck units in their unit dimensions.

The speed of light expressed as Planck units in its unit dimensions, using CODATA 2022 values

and

The Planck constant expressed as Planck units in its unit dimensions, using CODATA 2022 values

Evaluating other universal constants shows that they can similarly be expressed as Planck units in their unit dimensions.

ImageNameDimensionsFile TypeFile Type

Speed of lightL T–1PNGPSD

Planck constantL2MT–1PNGPSD
Gravitational constantL3 M–1 T–2PNGPSD

Magnetic constantL M T2 Q–2 T–2PNGPSD

Electric constantQ2 T2 L–3 M –1PNGPSD
Elementary chargeQPNGPSD

That the universal constants contain Planck units in their dimensions reflects Planck’s own approach when he isolated a quantity for each unit dimension from them. Replacing universal constants with Planck units illustrates how the other units cancel out.

Planck’s formulas for the natural units, with the universal constants expressed as Planck units so the other units cancel
The fine-structure constant expressed in terms of the elementary charge, the electric constant, the Planck constant, and the speed of light
The constants in the fine-structure formula represented as blocks of Planck units
The fine-structure formula with matching Planck units cancelling, leaving a dimensionless ratio of charges

The following blocks are visual representations of the Planck units of length, mass, time, and charge. Universal constants can be expressed as combinations of single-dimensional Planck units, as if assembled from blocks into specific arrangements for a particular calculation.

ImageNameDimensionsFile TypeFile Type
DescriptionPlanck LengthLPNGPSD
DescriptionPlanck MassMPNGPSD
DescriptionPlanck TimeTPNGPSD
DescriptionPlanck ChargeQPNGPSD

Individual Planck units can be combined into compound-dimensional Planck units. Compound-dimensional units represent Planck-scale quantities of physical phenomena and are the basis for calculating observable quantities.

ImageNameDimensionsFile TypeFile Type
DescriptionPlanck Velocity (Speed of Light)L T–1 PNGPSD
DescriptionPlanck AccelerationL T–2 PNGPSD
DescriptionPlanck ForceL M T–2 PNGPSD
DescriptionPlanck EnergyM L2 T–2 PNGPSD
DescriptionPlanck Electric PotentialM L2 T–2 Q–1PNGPSD
DescriptionPlanck CurrentQ T–1 PNGPSD

Universal Units >>