A new determination of the Newtonian constant of gravity using the free fall method
| Autor: | J P Schwarz, Douglas S. Robertson, Timothy M. Niebauer, James E. Faller |
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| Rok vydání: | 1999 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Measurement Science and Technology. 10:478-486 |
| ISSN: | 1361-6501 0957-0233 |
| DOI: | 10.1088/0957-0233/10/6/311 |
| Popis: | We report on a recent determination of the Newtonian constant of gravity, G, using a new `free fall' method. This method uses a freely falling test object to sense the gravitational field of a ring-shaped mass placed alternately above and below the drop region. The measurement of the changes in acceleration of the test object allow determination of G. Because the test mass is unsupported, systematic errors associated with the free fall method are significantly different from those of the traditional torsion experiments that constitute the great majority of G measurements. This characteristic makes this method potentially valuable in the context of today's uncertainty about the value of G. The raw data have been examined in a variety of ways. We describe our methods which allow us to extract, besides G, information about various experimental parameters and possible systematic errors. A number of sources of systematic errors have been investigated, including magnetic and vibratory signals arising from the dropping action of our apparatus. We outline the steps we have taken to ascertain the magnitude of errors introduced by these effects. Using the free fall method, we have completed a determination of G, obtaining a result of G = (6.6873?0.0094) ? 10-11 m3 kg-1 s2. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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