The Cavendish Experiment Welcome to SCIPP卡文迪什实验欢迎到骶尾部至耻骨下点.pptVIP

The Cavendish Experiment Determining the Value of the Universal Gravitational Constant History Originally performed by Henry Cavendish in the mid 1800’s Performed experiment in basement of his castle Used much less precise techniques Obtained amazingly and accurately precise results Research Question What is the value of the universal gravitational constant (G) ? Preliminary Questions How can this constant be determined? What are the expected results of the experiment? Secondary Questions (once the results are calculated) What are the effects of these results on the real world? Why should we care? Experimental Procedure Experimental Procedure One can determine the gravitational constant by: Using the distance the laser light has traveled The angle the balance has rotated The mass of the lead balls The torsion constant of the gold-plated Tungsten wire The distance by which the masses are separated Experimental Procedure Each of the variables, which will be determined in the experiment, will then inserted into the following equation: 2 G M1 M2 x L = α x ? B^2 M1= 15 grams α= torsion constant of M2= 1 kg gold-plated Tungsten wire B= distance between the masses ?= the angle the wire twists L= distance from the axis to the small mass G= ????? Results After 24 hours… The reflected laser light moved 1 mm on the wall in both trials The balance rotated 5.71 x 10^-4 radians (?) these results combined with the measurable quantities of the set up… The distance between the masses is measure at 4.5 cm The distance from the axis to the small mass is 7.2 cm The torsion constant is 1.41 x 10^-6 Nm/radian allow us to complete the equation: 2 G M1 M2 x L = α x ? B2 Results With the values of each variable imputed, the equation appears like this: 2(G)(15 gm)(1 kg) x L = (1.41 x 10^-6 Nm/radian)(5.71 x 10^-4 radians) (4.5 cm)2 After each number is input the only variable left is G. Using simple algebra we can solve for G. Results After solving the equ