Determination Of Gravitational Constant G
Concepts and definitions:
- Cavendish Experiment:
- It was an experiment conducted in 1797-98 by British scientist Henry Cavendish to measure the gravitational constant.
- The experiment involved measuring the very tiny force of attraction between two lead balls of known mass.
- From this measurement, Cavendish calculated the value of the gravitational constant accurately.
- Repulsion and Attraction:
- Repulsion: Force of repulsion occurs when bodies having the same charge interact with each other.
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**Attraction**: Force of attraction occurs when two bodies having opposite charges interact with each other.
- Torsion Balance:
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A torsion balance is a sensitive instrument that measures tiny torsional forces (twisting forces) acting on a suspended fiber or wire.
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It consists of a suspended horizontal beam with two masses attached to its ends, and a graduated circular scale to measure the angle of rotation of the beam when a force is applied.
- Newton’s Law of Gravitation:
- This law describes the force of attraction between any two objects with mass in the universe.
- The law states that every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
- Gravitational Constant:
- The gravitational constant, denoted by (G), is a fundamental physical constant that appears in Newton’s law of gravitation.
- It represents the proportionality factor between the gravitational force between two objects and the product of their masses and the square of the distance between them.