Definition

fine structure constant

Part of the IT standards and organizations glossary:

The fine structure constant measures the strength of the electromagnetic force that controls how charged elementary particles (such as electrons and photons) interact. Because the constant is nearly equal to 1/137, and because it is a dimensionless constant, some scientists have been led to wonder whether it has mathematical significance of its own, such as pi, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.

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Table of Physical Constants
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The fine structure constant can be derived from other constants as follows:

= e² (2_ohc)^-1

where e is the elementary charge, _o is the permittivity of free space, h is Planck's constant, and c is the speed of light. The constant is also equal to the ratio of the velocity v₁ of the electron in the hydrogen atom to c, the speed of light.

This was last updated in May 2008

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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Table of Physical Constants
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