Thread: How were fundamental sientific values determined?

Eg speed of light, strength of gravity, strength of electrical
charge, mass of fundamental particles, size of each particle,
permieability of space oe whatever, number and type of fundamental
forces. Does that cover it?

I've moved this thread to the appropriate forum.

It should be explained in each of your respective course textbooks.

As unreliable as Wikipedia can be sometimes, you should go there and type in each subject independently, and then read the entries. They should have a history section on each.

More important would be the references section.

How were the fudamentals of science set ie, the speed of light, strength of the force of gravity and electrical attraction, the number of fundamental particles adn their properties.

It seems to me they could have been set to different value to which thet are now, so why is these certain values were used and not one of another infinite set of possible values?

Originally Posted by esbo

Eg speed of light, strength of gravity, strength of electrical
charge, mass of fundamental particles, size of each particle,
permieability of space oe whatever, number and type of fundamental
forces. Does that cover it?

Once the unit has been defined, the value can usually be measured, whether directly or indirectly (by measuring 2 or more variables and calculating the constant).

Originally Posted by esbo

How were the fudamentals of science set ie, the speed of light, strength of the force of gravity and electrical attraction, the number of fundamental particles adn their properties.

They weren't set, they were measured.

Originally Posted by esbo

It seems to me they could have been set to different value to which thet are now, so why is these certain values were used and not one of another infinite set of possible values?

Because we defined the units, then measured the constants using these units.

For example, the speed of light is approximately . However, if you don't say what the metre and the second represent, as units, then it's just a meaningless number. So yes, you could set it at any value, but in SI units it will always be the same, and you will likely have to convert a lot anyway in any calculation if you do this.