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Fundamental constants

A cool way to measure big G

Nature volume 510, pages 478–480 (2014)Cite this article

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Published results of the gravitational constant, a measure of the strength of gravity, have failed to converge. An approach that uses cold atoms provides a new data point in the quest to determine this fundamental constant. See Letter p.518

In our daily lives, we can see the effect of the gravitational force between Earth and an object, say an apple. However, the gravitational attraction between two apples cannot be observed without using a sensitive apparatus such as a torsion balance — it is just too small. On page 518 of this issue, Rosi et al.1 describe an amazing measurement: the gravitational force between a rubidium atom and a 516-kilogram mass, with a relative uncertainty of just 0.015%. Their experiment was aimed at a precise determination of the gravitational constant, which describes the strength of the gravitational pull that bodies exert on each other, and was based on the technique of atom interferometry — a method that takes advantage of the wave nature of cold atoms to precisely measure gravitational acceleration.

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Figure 1: The big picture for big G.

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  1. Stephan Schlamminger is at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA.,

    Stephan Schlamminger

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Correspondence to Stephan Schlamminger.

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Schlamminger, S. A cool way to measure big G. Nature 510, 478–480 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13507

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