New Test of the Gravitational <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:mo stretchy="false">/</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msup></mml:math> Law at Separations down to <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>52</mml:mn><mml:mtext> </mml:mtext><mml:mtext> </mml:mtext><mml:mi>μ</mml:mi><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>
J. G. Lee, E. G. Adelberger, T. S. Cook, S. M. Fleischer, B. R. Heckel
Abstract
We tested the gravitational 1/r^{2} law using a stationary torsion-balance detector and a rotating attractor containing test bodies with both 18-fold and 120-fold azimuthal symmetries that simultaneously tests the 1/r^{2} law at two different length scales. We took data at detector-attractor separations between 52 μm and 3.0 mm. Newtonian gravity gave an excellent fit to our data, limiting with 95% confidence any gravitational-strength Yukawa interactions to ranges <38.6 μm.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsGravitationQuantum mechanicsBlack Holes and Theoretical PhysicsCosmology and Gravitation TheoriesPulsars and Gravitational Waves Research