MadSci Network: Physics |
While Newton did not accurately measure G, the constant of gravitation in his universal law of gravitation, another British experimental physicist, Cavendish, did. He did so by measuring the twist on a dumbbell suspended from a wire as he moved two large, heavy spheres to various positions around the ends of the dumbbell. There is an excellent description of this and newer experiments to measure G at: http://mist.npl.washington.edu/eotwash/gconst.html
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