Skip to main content
Log in

The Newtonian gravitational constant: Modern status of measurement and the new CODATA value

  • Published:
Gravitation and Cosmology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Measurements of G, the Newtonian constant of gravitation, in laboratory experiments have a more than two hundred years’ history. Although the accuracy of the best modern experimental measurements of G reaches 15–40 ppm, the scatter of the measured values is large enough, and the knowledge of the absolute value of G is still rather poor. The results of the G measurements which were used for CODATA adjustments, as well as the CODATA values, are reviewed in the paper.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. H. Cavendish, Experiments to determine the density of the Earth, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London 88, 469 (1798).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. P. Heil and P. Chrzanovski, A new determination of the constant of gravitation, J. Research National Bureau of Standards, USA 29(1), 1 (1942).

    Google Scholar 

  3. E. R. Cohen and B. N. Taylor, The 1973 leastsquares adjustment of the fundamental constants, J. Phys. Ref. Data 2, 663 (1973).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. E. R. Cohen and B. N. Taylor, The 1986 adjustment of the fundamental physical constants, Rev.Mod. Phys. 59, 1121 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. R. D. Rose et al., Determination of the Gravitational Constant G, Phys. Rev. Lett. 23, 655 (1969).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. C. Pontikis, Determination de la constante de gravitation par la metode de resonance, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris. 274 ser. B, 437 (1972).

    Google Scholar 

  7. M. U. Sagitov, V. K. Milyukov, et al., New determination of the Cavendish gravitational constant, Dok. Acad. Nauk SSSR 245, 567 (1979) [Sov. Phys. Dokl. 245, 20 (1981)].

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. G. G. Luther and W. R. Towler, Redetermination of the Newtonian Gravitational Constant G, Phys. Rev. Lett. 48, 121 (1982).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. W. Michaelis et al., A new precise determination of Newton’s gravitational constant, Metrologia 32, 267 (1995/96).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. O. V. Karagioz and V. P. Izmailov, Measurement of the gravitational constant with a torsion balance, Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika 39, 3 (1996) [Measurement Techniques 39, 979 (1996)].

    Google Scholar 

  11. C. H. Bagley and G. G. Luther, Preliminary results of a determination of the Newtonian constant of gravitation: a test of the Kuroda hypothesis, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 3047 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Jun Luo et al., Determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant G with a nonlinear fitting method, Phys. Rev. D. 59, 042001 (1999).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. M. P. Fitzgerald and T. R. Armstrong, The measurement of G using the MSL torsion balance, Meas. Sci. Technol., 10, 439 (1999).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. P. J. Mohr and B. N. Taylor, CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 1998, Rev. Mod. Phys. 72, 351 (2000).

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  15. J.H. Gundlach and S. M. Merkowitz, Measurement of Newton’s constant using a torsion balance with angular acceleration feedback, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2869 (2000).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. T. J. Quinn, C. C. Speake, S. J. Richmann, et al., A new determination of G using two methods, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 111101 (2001).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. St. Schlamminger, E. Holzschuh, and W. Kundig, Determination of the gravitational constant with a beam balance, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 161102 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. U. Kleinevó, Bestimmung der Newtonschen Gravitationskonstanten G, Ph.D. thesis (University of Wuppertal, 2002).

  19. T. R. Armstrong and M. P. Fitzgerald, New measurements of G using the Measurement Standards laboratory torsion balance, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 201101 (2003).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. P. J. Mohr and B. N. Taylor, CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 2002, Rev. Mod. Phys. 77, 1 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Z.-K. Hu, J.-Q. Guo, and J. Luo, Correction of source mass effects in the HUST-99 measurement of G, Phys. Rev. D 71, 127505 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. St. Schlamminger, et al.,Measurement of Newton’s gravitational constant, Phys. Rev. D 74, 082001 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. P. J. Mohr, B. N. Taylor, and D. B. Newell, CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 2006, Rev.Mod. Phys. 80, 633 (2008).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Jun Luo et al., Determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant G with time-of-swing method, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 240801 (2009).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Liang-Cheng Tu et al., New determination of the gravitational Constant G with time-of-swing method, Phys. Rev. D 82, 022001 (2010).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. H.V. Parks and J. E. Faller, Simple pendulum determination of the gravitational constant, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 110801 (2010).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Official website of CODATA (http://www.codata.org).

  28. K. Kuroda, Does the time-of-swing method give a correct value of the Newtonian gravitational constant?, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 2796 (1995).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. P. R. Saulson, Thermal noise in mechanical experiments, Phys. Rev. D 42, 2437 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. Shan-Qing Yang, et al., Direct measurement of the anelasticity of a tungsten fiber, Phys. Rev. D 80, 122005 (2009).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. Milyukov.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Milyukov, V., Fan, Sh. The Newtonian gravitational constant: Modern status of measurement and the new CODATA value. Gravit. Cosmol. 18, 216–224 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0202289312030061

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0202289312030061

Keywords

Navigation