The 1986 adjustment of the fundamental physical constants

One of the early projects established by CODATA was intended to provide a recommended set of the fundamental physical constants, which are so important to the analysis and interpretation of experimental data in many scientific disciplines. The first "Recommended Consistent Values of the Fundamental Physical Constants" appeared in 1973 and was subsequently adopted by most international and national bodies in their own recommendations. This process has contributed to improved compatibility of scientific and technical data in all fields of science. CODATA presents here a revised version of these recommendations which takes into account the significant advances in metrology that have occurred since the 1973 analysis. "The 1986 adjustment of the fundamental physical constants" represents a 5-year effort involving experts from the major metrological laboratories of the world. It is hoped that this recommended data set will receive the acceptance of the scientific community which was achieved by its predecessor.