Guest
In this video, I'll show you the main mechanisms for the Cavendish Experiment. At this point, the device itself is built except for plastic sheeting covering the whole thing. The next step is to set up the lasers and mirrors for making extremely precise measurements of angles. To address some questions I've had in the past ... - “Doesn't his need to be done in a vacuum to eliminate air currents as a variable?“ This will not be conducted in a vacuum. As far as I can tell, that would make this nearly impossible. Removing air from the container requires a significant amount of air movement, which would get the torsional balance swinging. Since air resistance is really the only force slowing down that swinging, you'd be stuck with way too much movement to make a good measurement. Also, I don't have the money for the equipment and materials required for something like that anyway, so it's a moot point. - “How can you measure the gravity from the concrete blocks (bowling balls in the old versions) when there are other objects nearby?“ Or, related, “The only way you could measure the force of gravity from these blocks is if you took the device into space, really far from all other masses.“ There are certainly other forces present. The idea in the Cavendish Experiment is that the only force we allow to CHANGE is the gravitational forces from the pulling masses. As long as other forces stay consistent, we don't have to worry about them causing a change in the equilibrium position of the torsional balance.“ - “Electric and magnetic forces could be responsible for the movement we see.“ This is true, and is something I didn't really address in the previous versions of this experiment. I'll be trying a few different combinations of materials and setups to show that we get similar results with various methods of controlling for those forces. For example, in one version I'll cover everything with conductive material and ground the conductor, so that we know it's all at zero charge. - “You shouldn't be near the device because your own gravitational force disrupts the system.“ Again, quite true. For the measurement phases, I will be out of the area and letting the cameras run to get measurements remotely. I'll have to get near to move the masses into place again (still outside of the sealed box), but will wait until the pendulum reaches a stable swing in my absence to make the measurement. Be sure to comment with additional ideas or concerns about this experiment!
