Schlamminger Team Measures Big G at 0.000064 Below Accepted Value
Updated
Updated · Space.com · May 27
Schlamminger Team Measures Big G at 0.000064 Below Accepted Value
1 articles · Updated · Space.com · May 27
A NIST-led team reported a new gravitational constant measurement that came in 0.000064 below the current CODATA value, adding another data point to physics' least precise fundamental constant.
17 measurements of Big G still scatter more than expected, and Stephan Schlamminger said the new result does not resolve the underlying disagreement over how strongly gravity acts.
A 10-year replication of a BIPM experiment in Gaithersburg used a blinded method—an unknown mass bias sealed in an envelope—to avoid subconscious tuning, with the envelope opened on July 11, 2024.
The reveal was delayed from 2022 after the team found an air-pressure correction issue, underscoring how hard gravity is to isolate because it is the weakest fundamental force and cannot be shielded.
Published in Metrologia, the result implies Earth would be about 320,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms more massive if correct, while leaving the broader Big G mystery open.
Earth may be 360 quadrillion tons heavier. What does this new gravity measurement reveal about our universe?
Has a decade-long 'blind' experiment finally solved physics' greatest embarrassment, or has the mystery of gravity only deepened?
NIST’s 2026 Measurement of the Gravitational Constant (Big G): Precision, Discrepancies, and the Ongoing Mystery in Fundamental Physics
Overview
In April 2026, Stephan Schlamminger's team at NIST announced a new, lower value for the gravitational constant, Big G, which is crucial for understanding gravity in physics. This precise measurement, though more accurate, did not solve the ongoing mystery of G but instead deepened it, as scientists still struggle to agree on a single value. The challenge comes from gravity’s extreme weakness compared to other forces, making experiments very sensitive to interference. As a result, even small changes in G affect calculations like Earth's mass and require updates in scientific models, keeping the quest for a definitive value alive.