Cavendish's Lab Questions
One of the oldest questions in history is why and how fast do things fall to the Earth? This was not far from Henry Cavendish’s goal. In 1798 Cavendish sought to find the density of the Earth which in turn can be used to calculate the weight of the world. His experiment however required him to calculate an undefined variable in Newton’s law of universal gravitation known as G or the gravitational constant. Cavendish through his experiment discovered that the Earth’s gravitational constant was 9.8 m/s^2. Cavendish’s experiment made use of two lead spheres connected by a horizontal wooden rod suspended by a thin metal string. His final calculation of Earth’s density was 5.48 times that of water which is only .04 off of today’s accepted value of 5.52 times the density of water.
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Even though finding G was not Cavendish’s primary objective he gave us an answer to the physical phenomenon that is gravity. Before this time many had questioned why things fell to towards the Earth and Aristotle even claimed that heavier objects feel faster than lighter ones, something that Cavendish could now prove scientifically was wrong. Cavendish’s measurement of gravity allowed physicist and average civilians alike to understand with a little background information that acceleration due to gravity on earth is consistent. It also explained why two similar shaped objects with different weights fell at the same rate as proven, but not explained, by Galileo many years before. Cavendish was inadvertently supporting the ideas of other great experiments by finding the Gravitational
Even though finding G was not Cavendish’s primary objective he gave us an answer to the physical phenomenon that is gravity. Before this time many had questioned why things fell to towards the Earth and Aristotle even claimed that heavier objects feel faster than lighter ones, something that Cavendish could now prove scientifically was wrong. Cavendish’s measurement of gravity allowed physicist and average civilians alike to understand with a little background information that acceleration due to gravity on earth is consistent. It also explained why two similar shaped objects with different weights fell at the same rate as proven, but not explained, by Galileo many years before. Cavendish was inadvertently supporting the ideas of other great experiments by finding the Gravitational