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| Artist Impression Of an Exaggerated Gravitational space Time Warp Around the small Gold Ball use in this Experiment. |
The tiniest known gravitational field has now been recorded by scientists at the University of Vienna. Researchers measured the gravitational attraction of two gold spheres with a diameter of 2 millimetres (0.079 inches) and a mass of roughly 90 milligrammes, (0.003 ounces). This groundbreaking work has revolutionised humanity's understanding of gravity.
In many
situations, Newton's concept of gravity is still useful. Einstein's work
stretched the envelope even farther, and it has been proven right in
understanding this force in the most extreme situations, such as black holes
and merging neutron stars. However, physicists have failed to successfully
merge gravity with quantum physics.
Studying
the gravity of very small objects could provide a solution - but this is easier
said than done. Previous tests mostly measured gravitational interactions
between big masses, such as the Earth, and small masses. This is the first time
a gravitational field has been measured between two objects of extremely low
mass.
"Looking for the gravitational field of small masses is particularly interesting since we don't know how or if the laws of gravitation apply for them," co-author Hans Hepach explained.
The researchers added that it is currently unknown if and
where gravity operates differently, while some theoretical work shows that
values around the Planck mass (22 micrograms, or the mass of a flea egg) might
already deviate from traditional gravity principles. Although this research is
not yet examining such minuscule amounts, the researchers joke that "you
have to start somewhere."
"If hypotheses like dark matter and dark energy are true, then the usual rules [of gravity] as we know them would have to be modified at some level and at least at very short distances," said senior author Professor Markus Aspelmeyer.
Without an excellent experimental setup, this crucial
milestone in gravity research would not have been achievable. Gravity is a weak
force that we perceive as a strong force because the Earth is so large in
comparison to us. In absolute terms, however, it is over a trillion trillion
trillion times weaker than the electromagnetic force.
As a result, determining the microscopic attraction
between little things necessitates overcoming numerous sources of experimental
noise. Electrostatic forces and seismic shocks are among them, and even being
too close to the experiment had an impact. The effect of runners competing in
the Vienna marathon was also picked up by the experiment, according to the
researchers.
These hurdles were difficult to overcome, but the team is already working on new ones.
"We're now working on our next measurement, where we're going to reduce the mass by a factor of a thousand," said co-author Jeremias Pfaff.This will require understanding even better how environmental influences affect the experimental setup so that the effects of gravity can be accurately isolated.
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