Abstract
Although well established in the realm of celestial mechanics, gravitation between two masses has not yet been thoroughly examined in a laboratory. There have been several tests of the interaction since the Cavendish's celebrated experiment1–6, most of them measuring the static attraction between two spherical masses at a distance R less than 0.8 m. The gravitational interaction is weak and, in contrast with the electromagnetic interaction, there is no effective means to shield it. It has therefore proved difficult to increase the distance R over 1 m. Under the circumstances several authors7–9 have noted that the existing experimental data do not exclude a possible term which is added to the newtonian 1/R potential. Meanwhile, on the grounds of elementary particle physics, a number of theoretical papers7,10–14 have been published predicting additional terms which vanish rapidly at R = ∞. We now report a test of the law of gravitation in a range of R up to 4.2 m. The experiment is based on a low frequency dynamical quadrupole–quadrupole interaction between two masses, which was first observed by Sinsky and Weber15,16. Our result agrees with the inverse square law within the accuracy of the experiment.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cavendish, H. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 88, 469–526 (1798).
Heyl, P. R. J. Res. natn. Bur. Stand. 5, 1243–1290 (1930).
Heyl, P. R. & Chrzanowski, P. J. Res. natn. Bur. Stand. 29, 1–31 (1942).
Rose, R. D., Parker, H. M., Lowry, R. A., Kuhlthau, A. R. & Beams, J. W. Phys. Rev. Lett. 23, 655–658 (1969).
Pontikis, C. C. r. hebd. Seánc. Acad. Sci., Paris B274, 437–440 (1972).
Luther, G. G., Towler, W. R., Deslattes, R. D., Lowry, R. & Beams, J. W. in Atomic Masses and Fundamental Constants Vol. 5 (eds Sanders, J. H. & Wapstra, A. H.) 592–598 (Plenum, New York, 1976).
Fujii, Y. Nature phys. Sci. 234, 5–7 (1971); Phys. Rev. D9, 874–876 (1974).
Long, D. R. Phys. Rev. D9, 850–852 (1974); Nature 260, 417–418 (1976).
Mikkelsen, D. R. & Newman, M. J. Phys. Rev. D16, 919–926 (1977).
O'Hanlon, J. Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 137–138 (1972).
Sawada, T. Phys. Lett. 43B, 517–520 (1973); Prog. theor. Phys. 59, 149–158 (1978).
Fishbane, P. M. & Grisaru, M. T. Phys. Lett. 74B, 98–100 (1978).
Fujii, Y. & Mima, K. Phys. Lett. 79B, 138–142 (1978).
Matsuyama, S. & Miyazawa, H. Prog. theor. Phys. 61, 942–948 (1979).
Sinsky, J. & Weber, J. Phys. Rev. Lett. 18, 795–797 (1967).
Sinsky, J. Phys. Rev. 167, 1145–1151 (1968).
Hirakawa, H. & Narihara, K. Phys. Rev. Lett. 35, 330–334 (1975).
Hirakawa, H., Hiramatsu, S. & Ogawa, Y. Phys. Lett. 63A, 199–202 (1977).
Oide, K., Ogawa, Y. & Hirakawa, H. Jap. J. appl. Phys. 17, 429–432 (1978).
Fujimoto, M.-K. & Hirakawa, H. J. phys. Soc. Jap. 46, 703–706 (1979).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hirakawa, H., Tsubono, K. & Oide, K. Dynamical test of the law of gravitation. Nature 283, 184–185 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/283184a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/283184a0
This article is cited by
-
Dynamic gravitational excitation of structural resonances in the hertz regime using two rotating bars
Communications Physics (2023)
-
Dynamic measurement of gravitational coupling between resonating beams in the hertz regime
Nature Physics (2022)
-
Evaluation and preliminary measurement of the interaction of a dynamical gravitational near field with a cryogenic gravitational wave antenna
Zeitschrift für Physik C Particles and Fields (1991)
-
Newtonian gravity measurements impose constraints on unification theories
Nature (1981)
-
Geophysical evidence for non-newtonian gravity
Nature (1981)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.