With this experimental set-up, researchers succeeded in determining the gravitational constant in a new way. (Photograph: Jürg Dual / IMES / ETH Zurich)
With this experimental set-up, researchers succeeded in determining the gravitational constant in a new way. (Photograph: Jürg Dual / IMES / ETH Zurich) - Researchers at ETH Zurich have redetermined the gravitational constant G using a new measurement technique. Although there is still a large degree of uncertainty regarding this value, the new method offers great potential for testing one of the most fundamental laws of nature. The gravitational constant G determines the strength of gravity - the force that makes apples fall to the ground or pulls the Earth in its orbit around the sun. It is part of Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation, which he first formulated more than 300 years ago. The constant cannot be derived mathematically; it has to be determined through experiment. Over the centuries, scientists have conducted numerous experiments to determine the value of G, but the scientific community isn-t satisfied with the current figure.
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