Hardly anyone can be found for whom the words "universal physical constants" sound
entirely unfamiliar. Everyone has some idea of
what they are. At least in physics classes—if
never afterwards—all of us used them, usually
taking them from appendices somewhere at the
back of a textbook. However using them as
static reference material the student misses their
real physical significance and remains unaware
of the dramatic events surrounding their
discovery. It is the aim of this short popular science
book to pay tribute to the universal physical
constants.