News Physics

Explanation for G’s imprecision stumbles

Possible link of Earth’s rotation rate to gravitational constant questioned

A 60-minute exposure of Mount Teide in the Canary Islands

AS THE WORLD TURNS  A 60-minute exposure of Mount Teide in the Canary Islands shows star trails, a product of Earth’s spin. Tiny deviations in Earth’s rotation rate could account for difficulties in measuring Newton’s gravitational constant, a new study suggests.

Michael Bolognesi/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

By Andrew Grant

- More than 2 years ago

Tiny changes in Earth’s rotation rate could explain physicists’ inability to precisely measure a key fundamental constant of nature, a study in the April EPL proposes.