美国国家标准与技术研究所（NIST）经过十年的精密实验，于2024年7月11日在科罗拉多州极光召开的年度精密电磁测量会议上公布了万有引力常数G的最新测量结果 1。该研究团队测得G值为6.67387 × 10⁻¹¹ 米³/千克/秒² 1，相比法国国际度量衡局2007年的测量结果低0.0235% 1。尽管差异看似极小，但对于自1798年亨利·卡文迪什首次精确测量以来就难以准确确定的这一基础物理常数而言，已属显著偏差 1。
NIST研究人员采用了一种创新的科学方法来控制实验偏差。他们在实验中期将结果密封在信封中，原定于2022年开启，但由于随后发现气压影响因素未被充分考虑，研究团队推迟到2024年才打开这份密封记录 1。实验采用铜质和蓝宝石两种材料进行测量，两者的结果本质相同 1。参与研究的科学家Stephan Schlamminger表示："每项测量都很重要，因为真理最重要" 1，并强调"对我而言，进行精确测量是为宇宙带来秩序的方式，无论数字是否与预期值相符" 1。这一结果的公布再次引发科学界对该常数测定中潜在实验误差或更深层物理规律的思考。
Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have concluded a 10-year blind measurement experiment on the gravitational constant, revealing results that diverge subtly but significantly from recent international benchmarks 1. The team measured the gravitational constant G at 6.67387 × 10⁻¹¹ cubic meters per kilogram per second squared—a value approximately 0.0235% lower than the 2007 measurement established by France's International Bureau of Weights and Measures 1. Although the difference appears negligible, it carries weight for a fundamental physical constant that has resisted precise determination for more than two centuries since Henry Cavendish's first accurate measurement in 1798 1.
The findings were presented on July 11, 2024, at the annual Precision Electromagnetic Measurements conference in Aurora, Colorado 1. The experiment employed two distinct materials—copper and sapphire—to conduct independent measurements that yielded essentially identical results, strengthening confidence in the methodology 1. The research team had initially planned to unseal their results in 2022 but postponed the unveiling after discovering that atmospheric pressure effects had not been adequately accounted for in their calculations 1. Researcher Stephan Schlamminger emphasized the broader significance of precision work, stating: "Every measurement is important, because the truth matters" and "For me, making an accurate measurement is a way of bringing order to the universe, whether or not the number agrees with the expected value" 1.
评论
还没有评论，欢迎留下第一条。