The weight of the Earth has fallen by a trillion tonnes, thanks to a
recalculation of the gravitational constant. “Big G” is incredibly difficult to
measure and its official value is the most uncertain of all the physical
constants. At last week’s meeting of the American Physical Society in Long
Beach, California, researchers from the University of Washington unveiled
preliminary results for a measurement of G 10 to 100 times more accurate than
earlier values. The team used a version of the instrument employed to measure
the constant since the 1700s.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from 51¶¯Âþ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Health
The mysterious reason why women get hotter from age 18 to 42
51¶¯Âþ
Comment
This is the most underrated sci-fi film franchise of the 21st century
Culture
Comment
Shiver me timbers: Do we have to worry about space pirates now?
Regulars
Life
PMOS shows us why many scientific terms need to be renamed
Leader
Popular articles
Trending 51¶¯Âþ articles
1
The Selfish Gene at 50: Why Dawkins’s evolution classic still holds up
2
The distant world that is our best hope of finding alien life
3
Photos reveal unexpected details from the world's first atomic test
4
How I used psychology to come back from the worst year of my life
5
Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
6
Why autism pioneer Uta Frith wants to dismantle the spectrum
7
Rebooting stem cells builds aged muscles and assists injury recovery
8
The hidden pockets of the universe where the future can cause the past
9
A sinister, deadly brain protein could reveal the origins of all life
10
The mysterious reason why women get hotter from age 18 to 42
