Planck units

Any system of measurement may be assigned a mutually independent set of base quantities and associated base units, from which all other quantities and units may be derived. In the International System of Units, for example, the SI base quantities include length with the associated unit of the metre. In the system of Planck units, a similar set of base quantities may be selected, and the Planck base unit of length is then known simply as the Planck length, the base unit of time is the Planck time, and so on. These units are derived from the five dimensional universal physical constants of Table 1, in such a manner that these constants are eliminated from fundamental selected equations of physical law when physical quantities are expressed in terms of Planck units. For example, Newton's law of universal gravitation,

${\displaystyle F=G{\frac {m_{1}m_{2}}{r^{2}}}=\left({\frac {F_{\text{P}}l_{\text{P}}^{2}}{m_{\text{P}}^{2}}}\right){\frac {m_{1}m_{2}}{r^{2}}}}$

can be expressed as:

${\displaystyle {\frac {F}{F_{\text{P}}}}={\frac {\left({\dfrac {m_{1}}{m_{\text{P}}}}\right)\left({\dfrac {m_{2}}{m_{\text{P}}}}\right)}{\left({\dfrac {r}{l_{\text{P}}}}\right)^{2}}}.}$

Both equations are dimensionally consistent and equally valid in any system of units, but the second equation, with G missing, is relating only dimensionless quantities since any ratio of two like-dimensioned quantities is a dimensionless quantity. If, by a shorthand convention, it is understood that all physical quantities are expressed in terms of Planck units, the ratios above may be expressed simply with the symbols of physical quantity, without being scaled explicitly by their corresponding unit:

${\displaystyle F={\frac {m_{1}m_{2}}{r^{2}}}.}$

This last equation (without G) is valid only if F, m₁, m₂, and r are the dimensionless numerical values of these quantities measured in terms of Planck units. This is why Planck units or any other use of natural units should be employed with care. Referring to G = c = 1, Paul S. Wesson wrote that, "Mathematically it is an acceptable trick which saves labour. Physically it represents a loss of information and can lead to confusion."[1]

Key: L = length, M = mass, T = time, Q = electric charge, Θ = temperature.

A property of Planck units is that in order to obtain the value of any of the physical constants above it is enough to replace the dimensions of the constant with the corresponding Planck units. For example, the gravitational constant (G) has as dimensions L³ M⁻¹ T⁻². By replacing each dimension with the value of each corresponding Planck unit one obtains the value of (1 l_P)³ × (1 m_P)⁻¹ × (1 t_P)⁻² = (1.616255×10⁻³⁵ m)³ × (2.176435×10⁻⁸ kg)⁻¹ × (5.391247×10⁻⁴⁴ s)⁻² = 6.674...×10⁻¹¹ m³ kg⁻¹ s⁻² (which is the value of G).

This is the consequence of the fact that the system is internally coherent. For example, the gravitational attractive force of two bodies of 1 Planck mass each, set apart by 1 Planck length is 1 coherent Planck unit of force. Likewise, the distance traveled by light during 1 Planck time is 1 Planck length.

To determine, in terms of SI or another existing system of units, the quantitative values of the five base Planck units, those two equations and three others must be satisfied:

${\displaystyle l_{\text{P}}=c\ t_{\text{P}}}$

${\displaystyle F_{\text{P}}={\frac {m_{\text{P}}l_{\text{P}}}{t_{\text{P}}^{2}}}=G\ {\frac {m_{\text{P}}^{2}}{l_{\text{P}}^{2}}}}$

${\displaystyle E_{\text{P}}={\frac {m_{\text{P}}l_{\text{P}}^{2}}{t_{\text{P}}^{2}}}=\hbar \ {\frac {1}{t_{\text{P}}}}}$

${\displaystyle E_{\text{P}}={\frac {m_{\text{P}}l_{\text{P}}^{2}}{t_{\text{P}}^{2}}}=k_{\text{B}}\ T_{\text{P}}.}$

${\displaystyle F_{\text{P}}={\frac {m_{\text{P}}l_{\text{P}}}{t_{\text{P}}^{2}}}={\frac {1}{4\pi \varepsilon _{0}}}\ {\frac {q_{\text{P}}^{2}}{l_{\text{P}}^{2}}}}$

Solving the five equations above for the five unknowns results in a unique set of values for the five base Planck units:

Table 2: Base Planck units

Name	Dimension	Expression	Value (SI units)
Planck length	Length (L)	${\displaystyle l_{\text{P}}={\sqrt {\frac {\hbar G}{c^{3}}}}}$	1.616255(18)×10−35 m[7]
Planck mass	Mass (M)	${\displaystyle m_{\text{P}}={\sqrt {\frac {\hbar c}{G}}}}$	2.176435(24)×10−8 kg[8]
Planck time	Time (T)	${\displaystyle t_{\text{P}}={\frac {l_{\text{P}}}{c}}={\frac {\hbar }{m_{\text{P}}c^{2}}}={\sqrt {\frac {\hbar G}{c^{5}}}}}$	5.391247(60)×10−44 s[9]
Planck temperature	Temperature (Θ)	${\displaystyle T_{\text{P}}={\frac {m_{\text{P}}c^{2}}{k_{\text{B}}}}={\sqrt {\frac {\hbar c^{5}}{Gk_{\text{B}}^{2}}}}}$	1.416785(16)×1032 K[10]
Planck charge	Electric charge (Q)	${\displaystyle q_{\text{P}}={\sqrt {\frac {\hbar c}{k_{\text{e}}}}}={\sqrt {4\pi \varepsilon _{0}\hbar c}}={\sqrt {\frac {4\pi \hbar }{\mu _{0}c}}}={\frac {e}{\sqrt {\alpha }}}}$	1.875545956(41)×10−18 C[11][4][2]

Table 2 clearly defines Planck units in terms of the fundamental constants. Yet relative to other units of measurement such as SI, the values of the Planck units are only known approximately. This is due to uncertainty in the values of the gravitational constant G and ε₀ in SI units.

The values of c, h, e and k_B in SI units are exact due to the definition of the second, metre, kilogram and kelvin in terms of these constants, and contribute no uncertainty to the values of the Planck units expressed in terms of SI units. The vacuum permittivity ε₀ has a relative uncertainty of 1.5×10⁻¹⁰.[11] The numerical value of G has been determined experimentally to a relative uncertainty of 2.2×10⁻⁵.[3] G appears in the definition of every Planck unit other than for charge in Tables 2 and 3. Hence the uncertainty in the values of the Table 2 and 3 SI equivalents of the Planck units derives almost entirely from uncertainty in the value of G. (The propagation of the error in G is a function of the exponent of G in the algebraic expression for a unit. Since that exponent is ±1/2 for every base unit other than Planck charge, the relative uncertainty of each base unit is about one half that of G.)

Although the values of the single units can be known only with some uncertainty, one of the consequences of the definitions of c h and k_B in SI units is that one Planck mass multiplied by one Planck length is equal exactly to 1 l_P × 1 m_P = ħ/c = 6.62607015×10⁻³⁴/2π × 299792458 m⋅kg, while one Planck mass divided by one Planck temperature is equal exactly to 1 m_P/1 T_P = k_B/c² = 1.380649×10⁻²³/299792458² kg/K, and finally one Planck length divided by one Planck time is equal exactly to 1 l_P/1 t_P = c = 299792458 m/s. As for the gravitational constant and the Coulomb constant instead, although their value is not exact by definition in SI units and must be measured experimentally, the attractive gravitational force f that two Planck masses placed at a distance r exert on each other is equal to the attractive/repulsive electrostatic force between two Planck charges placed at the same distance, which is equal exactly to f = ħc/r² = 6.62607015×10⁻³⁴ × 299792458/2π r² N.

In any system of measurement, units for many physical quantities can be derived from base units. Table 3 offers a sample of derived Planck units, some of which in fact are seldom used. As with the base units, their use is mostly confined to theoretical physics because most of them are too large or too small for empirical or practical use and there are large uncertainties in their values.

Table 3: Coherent derived units of Planck units

Derived unit of	Expression	Approximate SI equivalent
area (L2)	${\displaystyle l_{\text{P}}^{2}={\frac {\hbar G}{c^{3}}}}$	2.6121×10−70 m2
volume (L3)	${\displaystyle l_{\text{P}}^{3}=\left({\frac {\hbar G}{c^{3}}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}={\sqrt {\frac {(\hbar G)^{3}}{c^{9}}}}}$	4.2217×10−105 m3
momentum (LMT−1)	${\displaystyle m_{\text{P}}c={\frac {\hbar }{l_{\text{P}}}}={\sqrt {\frac {\hbar c^{3}}{G}}}}$	6.5249 kg⋅m/s
energy (L2MT−2)	${\displaystyle E_{\text{P}}=m_{\text{P}}c^{2}={\frac {\hbar }{t_{\text{P}}}}={\sqrt {\frac {\hbar c^{5}}{G}}}}$	1.9561×109 J
force (LMT−2)	${\displaystyle F_{\text{P}}={\frac {E_{\text{P}}}{l_{\text{P}}}}={\frac {\hbar }{l_{\text{P}}t_{\text{P}}}}={\frac {c^{4}}{G}}}$	1.2103×1044 N
density (L−3M)	${\displaystyle \rho _{\text{P}}={\frac {m_{\text{P}}}{l_{\text{P}}^{3}}}={\frac {\hbar t_{\text{P}}}{l_{\text{P}}^{5}}}={\frac {c^{5}}{\hbar G^{2}}}}$	5.1550×1096 kg/m3
acceleration (LT−2)	${\displaystyle a_{\text{P}}={\frac {c}{t_{\text{P}}}}={\sqrt {\frac {c^{7}}{\hbar G}}}}$	5.5608×1051 m/s2
frequency (T−1)	${\displaystyle f_{p}={\frac {c}{l_{\text{P}}}}={\sqrt {\frac {c^{5}}{\hbar G}}}}$	1.8549×1043 Hz

Most Planck units are many orders of magnitude too large or too small to be of practical use, so that Planck units as a system are typically only relevant to theoretical physics. In fact, 1 Planck unit is often the largest or smallest value of a physical quantity that makes sense within present-day theories of physics. For example, our understanding of the Big Bang begins with the Planck epoch, when the universe was 1 Planck time old and 1 Planck length in diameter. Understanding the universe when it was less than 1 Planck time old requires a theory of quantum gravity that would incorporate quantum effects into general relativity. Such a theory does not yet exist.

An exception to the general pattern of Planck units being "extreme" in magnitude is the Planck mass, which is about 22 micrograms: very large compared to subatomic particles, but well within the mass range of living things.

The concept of natural units was introduced in 1881, when George Johnstone Stoney, noting that electric charge is quantized, derived units of length, time, and mass, now named Stoney units in his honor, by normalizing G, c, and the electron charge, e, to 1.

In 1899 (one year before the advent of quantum theory), Max Planck introduced what became later known as the Planck constant.[12][13] At the end of the paper, Planck proposed, as a consequence of his discovery, the base units later named in his honor. The Planck units are based on the quantum of action, now usually known as the Planck constant. Planck called the constant b in his paper, though h (or the closely related ħ) is now common. However, at that time it was part of Wien's radiation law, which Planck thought to be correct. Planck underlined the universality of the new unit system, writing:

... die Möglichkeit gegebenist, Einheiten für Länge, Masse, Zeit und Temperatur aufzustellen, welche, unabhängig von speciellen Körpern oder Substanzen, ihre Bedeutung für alle Zeiten und für alle, auch außerirdische und außermenschliche Culturen notwendig behalten und welche daher als »natürliche Maßeinheiten« bezeichnet werden können.
... it is possible to set up units for length, mass, time and temperature, which are independent of special bodies or substances, necessarily retaining their meaning for all times and for all civilizations, including extraterrestrial and non-human ones, which can be called "natural units of measure".

Planck considered only the units based on the universal constants G, ħ, c, and k_B to arrive at natural units for length, time, mass, and temperature.[13] Planck's paper also gave numerical values for the base units that were close to modern values.

The original base units proposed by Planck in 1899 differed by a factor of ${\displaystyle {\sqrt {2\pi }}}$ from the Planck units in use today.[12][13] This is due to the use of the reduced Planck constant (${\displaystyle \hbar }$) in the modern units, which did not appear in the original proposal.

Table 4: Original Planck units

Name	Dimension	Expression	Value in SI units	Value in modern Planck units
Original Planck length	Length (L)	${\displaystyle {\sqrt {\frac {hG}{c^{3}}}}}$	4.05135×10−35 m	${\displaystyle {\sqrt {2\pi }}\times l_{\text{P}}}$
Original Planck mass	Mass (M)	${\displaystyle {\sqrt {\frac {hc}{G}}}}$	5.45551×10−8 kg	${\displaystyle {\sqrt {2\pi }}\times m_{\text{P}}}$
Original Planck time	Time (T)	${\displaystyle {\sqrt {\frac {hG}{c^{5}}}}}$	1.35138×10−43 s	${\displaystyle {\sqrt {2\pi }}\times t_{\text{P}}}$
Original Planck temperature	Temperature (Θ)	${\displaystyle {\sqrt {\frac {hc^{5}}{Gk_{\text{B}}}}}}$	3.55135×1032 K	${\displaystyle {\sqrt {2\pi }}\times T_{\text{P}}}$

Planck did not adopt any electromagnetic units. However, since the spirit of the system is that of setting all constants to 1, the scientific community has gradually adopted the common habit of setting the Coulomb constant to 1 as well and include the electric charge among the Planck base units.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Setting the Coulomb constant to 1 yields for the charge a value identical to the charge unit used in QCD units. Depending on the focus, however, other physicists have kept a more minimalist approach and have referred to the Planck units mentioning only length, mass and time.[22]

A 2006 internal proposal of the SI Working Group of fixing the Planck charge instead of the elementary charge (since "fixing q_P would have kept μ₀ at its familiar value of 4π × 10⁻⁷ H/m and made e dependent on measurements of α") was rejected, and instead the value of the elementary charge was chosen to be fixed by definition.[23] Currently to calculate the Planck charge it is necessary to use the elementary charge (whose value is currently exact by definition) and the fine-structure constant (whose value needs to be measured and is susceptible to measurement errors).

Planck units have little anthropocentric arbitrariness, but do still involve some arbitrary choices in terms of the defining constants. Unlike the metre and second, which exist as base units in the SI system for historical reasons, the Planck length and Planck time are conceptually linked at a fundamental physical level. Consequently, natural units help physicists to reframe questions. Frank Wilczek puts it succinctly:

We see that the question [posed] is not, "Why is gravity so feeble?" but rather, "Why is the proton's mass so small?" For in natural (Planck) units, the strength of gravity simply is what it is, a primary quantity, while the proton's mass is the tiny number [1/(13 quintillion)].[24]

While it is true that the electrostatic repulsive force between two protons (alone in free space) greatly exceeds the gravitational attractive force between the same two protons, this is not about the relative strengths of the two fundamental forces. From the point of view of Planck units, this is comparing apples to oranges, because mass and electric charge are incommensurable quantities. Rather, the disparity of magnitude of force is a manifestation of the fact that the charge on the protons is approximately the unit charge but the mass of the protons is far less than the unit mass.

In particle physics and physical cosmology, the Planck scale is an energy scale around 1.22 × 10¹⁹ GeV (the Planck energy, corresponding to the mass–energy equivalence of the Planck mass, 2.17645 × 10⁻⁸ kg) at which quantum effects of gravity become strong. At this scale, present descriptions and theories of sub-atomic particle interactions in terms of quantum field theory break down and become inadequate, due to the impact of the apparent non-renormalizability of gravity within current theories.

Planck momentum

This plot of kinetic energy versus momentum has a place for most moving objects encountered in everyday life. It shows objects with the same kinetic energy (horizontally related) that carry different amounts of momentum, as well as how the speed of a low-mass object compares (by vertical extrapolation) to the speed after perfectly inelastic collision with a large object at rest. Highly sloped lines (rise/run=2) mark contours of constant mass, while lines of unit slope mark contours of constant speed. The plot further illustrates where lightspeed, Planck's constant, and kT figure in. (Note: the line labeled universe only tracks a mass estimate for the visible universe.)

The Planck momentum is equal to the Planck mass multiplied by the speed of light. Unlike most of the other Planck units, Planck momentum occurs on a human scale. By comparison, running with a five-pound object (10⁸ × Planck mass) at an average running speed (10⁻⁸ × speed of light in a vacuum) would give the object Planck momentum. A 70 kg human moving at an average walking speed of 1.4 m/s (5.0 km/h; 3.1 mph) would have a momentum of about 15 ${\displaystyle m_{\text{P}}c}$. A baseball, which has mass ${\displaystyle m=}$ 0.145 kg, travelling at 45 m/s (160 km/h; 100 mph) would have a Planck momentum.

Physical quantities that have different dimensions (such as time and length) cannot be equated even if they are numerically equal (1 second is not the same as 1 metre). In theoretical physics, however, this scruple can be set aside, by a process called nondimensionalization. Table 7 shows how the use of Planck units simplifies many fundamental equations of physics, because this gives each of the five fundamental constants, and products of them, a simple numeric value of 1. In the SI form, the units should be accounted for. In the nondimensionalized form, the units, which are now Planck units, need not be written if their use is understood.

Table 7: How Planck units simplify the key equations of physics

	SI form	Planck units form
Newton's law of universal gravitation	${\displaystyle F=G{\frac {m_{1}m_{2}}{r^{2}}}}$	${\displaystyle F={\frac {m_{1}m_{2}}{r^{2}}}}$
Einstein field equations in general relativity	${\displaystyle {G_{\mu \nu }=8\pi {G \over c^{4}}T_{\mu \nu }}\ }$	${\displaystyle {G_{\mu \nu }=8\pi T_{\mu \nu }}\ }$
Mass–energy equivalence in special relativity	${\displaystyle {E=mc^{2}}\ }$	${\displaystyle {E=m}\ }$
Energy–momentum relation	${\displaystyle E^{2}=m^{2}c^{4}+p^{2}c^{2}\;}$	${\displaystyle E^{2}=m^{2}+p^{2}\;}$
Thermal energy per particle per degree of freedom	${\displaystyle {E={\tfrac {1}{2}}k_{\text{B}}T}\ }$	${\displaystyle {E={\tfrac {1}{2}}T}\ }$
Boltzmann's entropy formula	${\displaystyle {S=k_{\text{B}}\ln \Omega }\ }$	${\displaystyle {S=\ln \Omega }\ }$
Planck–Einstein relation for energy and angular frequency	${\displaystyle {E=\hbar \omega }\ }$	${\displaystyle {E=\omega }\ }$
Planck's law (surface intensity per unit solid angle per unit angular frequency) for black body at temperature T.	${\displaystyle I(\omega ,T)={\frac {\hbar \omega ^{3}}{4\pi ^{3}c^{2}}}~{\frac {1}{e^{\frac {\hbar \omega }{k_{\text{B}}T}}-1}}}$	${\displaystyle I(\omega ,T)={\frac {\omega ^{3}}{4\pi ^{3}}}~{\frac {1}{e^{\omega /T}-1}}}$
Stefan–Boltzmann constant σ defined	${\displaystyle \sigma ={\frac {\pi ^{2}k_{\text{B}}^{4}}{60\hbar ^{3}c^{2}}}}$	${\displaystyle \sigma ={\frac {\pi ^{2}}{60}}}$
Bekenstein–Hawking black hole entropy[49]	${\displaystyle S_{\text{BH}}={\frac {A_{\text{BH}}k_{\text{B}}c^{3}}{4G\hbar }}={\frac {4\pi Gk_{\text{B}}m_{\text{BH}}^{2}}{\hbar c}}}$	${\displaystyle S_{\text{BH}}={\frac {A_{\text{BH}}}{4}}=4\pi m_{\text{BH}}^{2}}$
Schrödinger's equation	${\displaystyle -{\frac {\hbar ^{2}}{2m}}\nabla ^{2}\psi (\mathbf {r} ,t)+V(\mathbf {r} ,t)\psi (\mathbf {r} ,t)=i\hbar {\frac {\partial \psi (\mathbf {r} ,t)}{\partial t}}}$	${\displaystyle -{\frac {1}{2m}}\nabla ^{2}\psi (\mathbf {r} ,t)+V(\mathbf {r} ,t)\psi (\mathbf {r} ,t)=i{\frac {\partial \psi (\mathbf {r} ,t)}{\partial t}}}$
Hamiltonian form of Schrödinger's equation	${\displaystyle H\left|\psi _{t}\right\rangle =i\hbar {\frac {\partial }{\partial t}}\left|\psi _{t}\right\rangle }$	${\displaystyle H\left|\psi _{t}\right\rangle =i{\frac {\partial }{\partial t}}\left|\psi _{t}\right\rangle }$
Covariant form of the Dirac equation	${\displaystyle \ (i\hbar \gamma ^{\mu }\partial _{\mu }-mc)\psi =0}$	${\displaystyle \ (i\gamma ^{\mu }\partial _{\mu }-m)\psi =0}$
Unruh temperature	${\displaystyle T={\frac {\hbar a}{2\pi ck_{B}}}}$	${\displaystyle T={\frac {a}{2\pi }}}$
Coulomb's law	${\displaystyle F={\frac {1}{4\pi \epsilon _{0}}}{\frac {q_{1}q_{2}}{r^{2}}}}$	${\displaystyle F={\frac {q_{1}q_{2}}{r^{2}}}}$
Maxwell's equations	${\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \mathbf {E} ={\frac {1}{\epsilon _{0}}}\rho }$ ${\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \mathbf {B} =0\ }$ ${\displaystyle \nabla \times \mathbf {E} =-{\frac {\partial \mathbf {B} }{\partial t}}}$ ${\displaystyle \nabla \times \mathbf {B} ={\frac {1}{c^{2}}}\left({\frac {1}{\epsilon _{0}}}\mathbf {J} +{\frac {\partial \mathbf {E} }{\partial t}}\right)}$	${\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \mathbf {E} =4\pi \rho \ }$ ${\displaystyle \nabla \cdot \mathbf {B} =0\ }$ ${\displaystyle \nabla \times \mathbf {E} =-{\frac {\partial \mathbf {B} }{\partial t}}}$ ${\displaystyle \nabla \times \mathbf {B} =4\pi \mathbf {J} +{\frac {\partial \mathbf {E} }{\partial t}}}$
Ideal gas law	${\displaystyle PV=nRT}$	${\displaystyle PV=NT}$

As already stated above, Planck units are derived by "normalizing" the numerical values of certain fundamental constants to 1. These normalizations are neither the only ones possible nor necessarily the best. Moreover, the choice of what factors to normalize, among the factors appearing in the fundamental equations of physics, is not evident, and the values of the Planck units are sensitive to this choice.

The factor 4π is ubiquitous in theoretical physics because the surface area of a sphere of radius r is 4πr². This, along with the concept of flux, are the basis for the inverse-square law, Gauss's law, and the divergence operator applied to flux density. For example, gravitational and electrostatic fields produced by point charges have spherical symmetry (Barrow 2002: 214–15). The 4πr² appearing in the denominator of Coulomb's law in rationalized form, for example, follows from the flux of an electrostatic field being distributed uniformly on the surface of a sphere. Likewise for Newton's law of universal gravitation. (If space had more than three spatial dimensions, the factor 4π would have to be changed according to the geometry of the sphere in higher dimensions.)

Hence a substantial body of physical theory developed since Planck (1899) suggests normalizing not G but either 4πG (or 8πG or 16πG) to 1. Doing so would introduce a factor of 1/4π (or 1/8π or 1/16π) into the nondimensionalized form of the law of universal gravitation, consistent with the modern rationalized formulation of Coulomb's law in terms of the vacuum permittivity. In fact, alternative normalizations frequently preserve the factor of 1/4π in the nondimensionalized form of Coulomb's law as well, so that the nondimensionalized Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism and gravitoelectromagnetism both take the same form as those for electromagnetism in SI, which do not have any factors of 4π. When this is applied to electromagnetic constants, ε₀, this unit system is called "rationalized" Lorentz–Heaviside units. When applied additionally to gravitation and Planck units, these are called rationalized Planck units[50] and are seen in high-energy physics.

The rationalized Planck units are defined so that ${\displaystyle c=4\pi G=\hbar =\varepsilon _{0}=k_{\text{B}}=1}$.

There are several possible alternative normalizations.

Some theorists (such as Dirac and Milne) have proposed cosmologies that conjecture that physical "constants" might actually change over time (e.g. a variable speed of light or Dirac varying-G theory). Such cosmologies have not gained mainstream acceptance and yet there is still considerable scientific interest in the possibility that physical "constants" might change, although such propositions introduce difficult questions. Perhaps the first question to address is: How would such a change make a noticeable operational difference in physical measurement or, more fundamentally, our perception of reality? If some particular physical constant had changed, how would we notice it, or how would physical reality be different? Which changed constants result in a meaningful and measurable difference in physical reality? If a physical constant that is not dimensionless, such as the speed of light, did in fact change, would we be able to notice it or measure it unambiguously? – a question examined by Michael Duff in his paper "Comment on time-variation of fundamental constants".[51][52]

George Gamow argued in his book Mr Tompkins in Wonderland that a sufficient change in a dimensionful physical constant, such as the speed of light in a vacuum, would result in obvious perceptible changes. But this idea is challenged:

[An] important lesson we learn from the way that pure numbers like α define the world is what it really means for worlds to be different. The pure number we call the fine structure constant and denote by α is a combination of the electron charge, e, the speed of light, c, and Planck's constant, h. At first we might be tempted to think that a world in which the speed of light was slower would be a different world. But this would be a mistake. If c, h, and e were all changed so that the values they have in metric (or any other) units were different when we looked them up in our tables of physical constants, but the value of α remained the same, this new world would be observationally indistinguishable from our world. The only thing that counts in the definition of worlds are the values of the dimensionless constants of Nature. If all masses were doubled in value [including the Planck mass m_P ] you cannot tell because all the pure numbers defined by the ratios of any pair of masses are unchanged.

— Barrow 2002[36]

Referring to Duff's "Comment on time-variation of fundamental constants"[51] and Duff, Okun, and Veneziano's paper "Trialogue on the number of fundamental constants",[53] particularly the section entitled "The operationally indistinguishable world of Mr. Tompkins", if all physical quantities (masses and other properties of particles) were expressed in terms of Planck units, those quantities would be dimensionless numbers (mass divided by the Planck mass, length divided by the Planck length, etc.) and the only quantities that we ultimately measure in physical experiments or in our perception of reality are dimensionless numbers. When one commonly measures a length with a ruler or tape-measure, that person is actually counting tick marks on a given standard or is measuring the length relative to that given standard, which is a dimensionless value. It is no different for physical experiments, as all physical quantities are measured relative to some other like-dimensioned quantity.

We can notice a difference if some dimensionless physical quantity such as fine-structure constant, α, changes or the proton-to-electron mass ratio, m_p/m_e, changes (atomic structures would change) but if all dimensionless physical quantities remained unchanged (this includes all possible ratios of identically dimensioned physical quantity), we cannot tell if a dimensionful quantity, such as the speed of light, c, has changed. And, indeed, the Tompkins concept becomes meaningless in our perception of reality if a dimensional quantity such as c has changed, even drastically.

If the speed of light c, were somehow suddenly cut in half and changed to 1/2c (but with the axiom that all dimensionless physical quantities remain the same), then the Planck length would increase by a factor of 2√2 from the point of view of some unaffected observer on the outside. Measured by "mortal" observers in terms of Planck units, the new speed of light would remain as 1 new Planck length per 1 new Planck time – which is no different from the old measurement. But, since by axiom, the size of atoms (approximately the Bohr radius) are related to the Planck length by an unchanging dimensionless constant of proportionality:

${\displaystyle a_{0}={\frac {4\pi \epsilon _{0}\hbar ^{2}}{m_{e}e^{2}}}={\frac {m_{\text{P}}}{m_{e}\alpha }}l_{\text{P}}.}$

Then atoms would be bigger (in one dimension) by 2√2, each of us would be taller by 2√2, and so would our metre sticks be taller (and wider and thicker) by a factor of 2√2. Our perception of distance and lengths relative to the Planck length is, by axiom, an unchanging dimensionless constant.

Our clocks would tick slower by a factor of 4√2 (from the point of view of this unaffected observer on the outside) because the Planck time has increased by 4√2 but we would not know the difference (our perception of durations of time relative to the Planck time is, by axiom, an unchanging dimensionless constant). This hypothetical unaffected observer on the outside might observe that light now propagates at half the speed that it previously did (as well as all other observed velocities) but it would still travel 299792458 of our new metres in the time elapsed by one of our new seconds (1/2c × 4√2 ÷ 2√2 continues to equal 299792458 m/s). We would not notice any difference.

This contradicts what George Gamow writes in his book Mr. Tompkins; there, Gamow suggests that if a dimension-dependent universal constant such as c changed significantly, we would easily notice the difference. The disagreement is better thought of as the ambiguity in the phrase "changing a physical constant"; what would happen depends on whether (1) all other dimensionless constants were kept the same, or whether (2) all other dimension-dependent constants are kept the same. The second choice is a somewhat confusing possibility, since most of our units of measurement are defined in relation to the outcomes of physical experiments, and the experimental results depend on the constants. Gamow does not address this subtlety; the thought experiments he conducts in his popular works assume the second choice for "changing a physical constant". And Duff or Barrow would point out that ascribing a change in measurable reality, i.e. α, to a specific dimensional component quantity, such as c, is unjustified. The very same operational difference in measurement or perceived reality could just as well be caused by a change in h or e if α is changed and no other dimensionless constants are changed. It is only the dimensionless physical constants that ultimately matter in the definition of worlds.[51][54]

This unvarying aspect of the Planck-relative scale, or that of any other system of natural units, leads many theorists to conclude that a hypothetical change in dimensionful physical constants can only be manifest as a change in dimensionless physical constants. One such dimensionless physical constant is the fine-structure constant. There are some experimental physicists who assert they have in fact measured a change in the fine structure constant[55] and this has intensified the debate about the measurement of physical constants. According to some theorists[56] there are some very special circumstances in which changes in the fine-structure constant can be measured as a change in dimensionful physical constants. Others however reject the possibility of measuring a change in dimensionful physical constants under any circumstance.[51] The difficulty or even the impossibility of measuring changes in dimensionful physical constants has led some theorists to debate with each other whether or not a dimensionful physical constant has any practical significance at all and that in turn leads to questions about which dimensionful physical constants are meaningful.[53]

• Value of the fundamental constants, including the Planck base units, as reported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
• Sections C-E of collection of resources bear on Planck units. As of 2011, those pages had been removed from the planck.org web site. Use the Wayback Machine to access pre-2011 versions of the website. Good discussion of why 8πG should be normalized to 1 when doing general relativity and quantum gravity. Many links.
• "Planck Era" and "Planck Time" (up to 10⁻⁴³ seconds after birth of Universe) (University of Oregon).
• Constants of nature: Quantum Space Theory offers a different set of Planck units and defines 31 physical constants in terms of them.
• See the Tool bag.
• The Planck scale: relativity meets quantum mechanics meets gravity from 'Einstein Light' at UNSW
• The Planck Era from U of Tennessee Astrophysics pages
• Higher-Dimensional Algebra and Planck-Scale Physics by John C. Baez
• Six easy roads to the Planck scale
• The Planck Epoch.
• Evolution of the Universe through the Planck Epoch.
• The Planck Era from U of Tennessee Astrophysics pages
• The Planck Era from U of Oregon Cosmology pages
• The Planck Era by Sten Odenwald from Astronomy Cafe
• The Plank Epoch by professor James Schombert 39O
• The Planck Era - definition from U of Ottawa's Astronomy Knowledge Base