INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PURE AND APPLIED PHYSICS Commission C2 - SUNAMCO SYMBOLS, UNITS, NOMENCLATURE AND FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS IN PHYSICS 1987 REVISION (2010 REPRINT) Prepared by E. Richard Cohen and Pierre Giacomo (SUNAMCO 87-1) PREFACE TO THE 2010 REPRINT The 1987 revision of the SUNAMCO ‘Red Book’ has for nearly a quarter of a century provided physicists with authoritative guidance on the use of symbols, units and nomenclature. As such, it is cited as a primary reference by the IUPAC ‘Green Book’ (Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, 3rd edition, E. R. Cohen et al., RSC Publishing, Cambridge, 2007) and the SI 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 the content of the printed version, although there are some minor differences in formatting and layout. In issuing this version, we recognise that there are areas of physics which have come to prominence over the last two decades which are not covered and also that some material has been superseded. In particular, the values of the fundamental constants presented in section 6 have been superseded by more recent recommended values from the CODATA Task Group on Fundamental Constants. The currently recommended values can be obtained at http://physics.nist.gov/constants. SUNAMCO has established a Committee for Revision of the Red Book. Suggestions for material to be included in a revised version can be directed to the SUNAMCO Secretary at
[email protected]. Copies of the 1987 printed version are available on application to the IUPAP Secretariat, c/o Insitute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1B 1NT, United Kingdom, e-mail:
[email protected].