Tables of physical and chemical constants

"It is now over ninety years since the first edition of Kaye and Laby's tables was published. Over that period a further fifteen editions were published at, roughly, five- to ten-year intervals. Following the launch of the sixteenth edition, the Editorial Board considered how the next edition should be prepared and what form it should take; should we propose a pocket version or a CD-ROM-based edition? We also explored publishing Kaye and Laby as a web-site. Above all, we felt, and our contributors agreed, that the tables were still extremely useful and that the tradition started by Kaye and Laby should be maintained. Our hope was that a paper version and a web-site could be launched together. However our publisher decided, for policy reasons, that he was not able to support the next edition of the book. The contract with the Editorial Board stipulated that, when the stocks of the sixteenth edition were exhausted, ownership of the rights to Kaye and Laby should pass to the Board. No alternative publisher was found. The Editorial Board agreed then that publication through an internet site should be its prime aim. Now that internet access is more universal, publishing through a web-site offers several advantages. We can expect a far wider readership, particularly if there is no charge. We would no longer be tied to a date for a next edition and tables may be updated whenever there is new or corrected information. In theory then, Kaye and Laby would be always up-to-date. While the present contributors are included by invitation, the updating potential could attract others to offer contributions to the Editorial Board. Finally, the web-site offers an excellent facility for extraction by its users. The board felt that they were not able alone to handle the design and development of a web-site together with its publicity and maintenance. They were delighted when the National Physical Laboratory, which has had a close association with Kaye and Laby from the initial edition, offered to host the web-site and meet the costs. NPL is now the manager of Kaye and Laby with the full support of the Editorial Board, which will act as NPL's advisor and interface with the contributors."