# Which is the right electron mass?

When particles mass can be changed by changing the website, then how to calculate with confidence?

For example: Google: electron mass = 9.10938 188 × 10$^-31$ kilograms

Wikipedia: electron mass

9.109 38 2 15(45) ×10$^−31$ kg

5.485 799 0943(23)×10$^−4$ u

8.187 104 38(41)×10$^−14$ J/c$^2$

0.510 998 910(13) MeV/c$^2$

The difference is small, but it makes little difference in accuracy.

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wikipedia in the electron entry 9.10938291(40)×10−31 kg 9.10938291(40)×10−31 kg . They are all the same within errors, and the errors come from various experiments measuring the mass with an error. no problem, that is why errors are important to be quoted – anna v Feb 11 '13 at 18:03

The NIST web site gives the electron mass as 9.10938291 $\pm$ 0.00000040 $\times$ 10$^{-31}$ kg. The 0.00000040 is a single standard deviation, so Google's value, 9.10938188 $\times$ 10$^{-31}$ kg is (just) within three standard deviations. The figures aren't that different.

I can't see any indication on the Google site where they get their value for the electron mass, but I would believe the NIST above an uncredited figure from Google.

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This is science, new measurements happen.

Obviously you go to the newest and most authoritative source you can get. As far as I am concerned that is the latest edition of the Particle Data Book which says the correct figure is $0.510998928 \pm 0.000000011\text{ MeV}$.

That said, I notice that the differences you list about are in the eight and ninth digits. Do you have any idea how hard it is to build anything well enough understood that those differences won't be completely lost in the noise of other uncorrected effects?

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PDG = boss. That is all. – user12345 Feb 12 '13 at 0:04

# Wolfram Alpha

$$9.10938\times 10^{-31}\mathrm{kg}$$

# Wiki Pedia

$$9.10938291 \times 10^{-31}\mathrm{kg}$$

$$9.10938291\times10^{-31} \mathrm{kg}$$