An analysis of the results of measurements of the fine-structure constant and their effect on the new definitions of the SI units

Abstract

The latest high-precision experimental results and theoretical calculations to determine the value of the fine-structure constant α are analyzed. These indicate a possible increase in its value by approximately 0.5·10−8α compared with the CODATA data (2006). It is shown that this shift in the value of α may play an important role in the new system of units, including the solution of the problem of matching the results of measurements of the Avogadro and Planck constants obtained by different methods (in the Avogadro project and by means of the watt balance).