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Related: About this forumThe strength of gravity has been measured to new precision
Pinpointing Big G could help refine mass measurements for Earth and other celestial objects
BY MARIA TEMMING 1:00PM, AUGUST 29, 2018
We now have the most precise estimates for the strength of gravity yet.
Two experiments measuring the tiny gravitational attraction between objects in a lab have measured Newtons gravitational constant, or Big G, with an uncertainty of only about 0.00116 percent. Until now, the smallest margin of uncertainty for any G measurement has been 0.00137 percent.
The new set of G values, reported in the Aug. 30 Nature, is not the final word on G. The two values disagree slightly, and they dont explain why previous G-measuring experiments have produced such a wide spread of estimates (SN Online: 4/30/15). Still, researchers may be able to use the new values, along with other estimates of G, to discover why measurements for this key fundamental constant are so finicky and perhaps pin down the strength of gravity once and for all.
The exact value of G, which relates mass and distance to the force of gravity in Newtons law of universal gravitation, has eluded scientists for centuries. Thats because the gravitational attraction between a pair of objects in a lab experiment is extremely small and susceptible to the gravitational influence of other nearby objects, often leaving researchers with high uncertainty about their measurements.
More:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/strength-gravity-gravitational-constant-newton?tgt=nr
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The strength of gravity has been measured to new precision (Original Post)
Judi Lynn
Sep 2018
OP
Maxheader
(4,374 posts)1. I've heard it said..
That gravity is the result of a parallel universe to ours..
defacto7
(13,485 posts)2. There's nothing big about gravity's strength.
It's a pretty weak fundamental force although far reaching. Now the electromagnetic force, that's the big E. If the big E was equal in strength to the big G and you fell off a 50 story building, the atoms of your body would go clear through the earth and out the other side. In the real world gravity gives you this great very slow ride down, but when your body meets the electromagnetic force of the concrete atoms... splat.