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Rank 133Down 3
#13 in Scientific Instruments
of 17 ranked entries
The Cavendish Experiment
Henry Cavendish · 1797–98, London
Cavendish used a torsion balance sensitive enough to measure the gravitational attraction between lead spheres in his own basement, and from that measurement calculated the density — and by extension the mass — of the entire Earth. He never set out to measure gravity’s strength directly; that value, Newton’s G, was derived from his numbers decades later. Recorded specifics: year 1798, discipline Physics, country England. Panel highlighted first experiment sensitive enough to measure gravitational attraction between two objects on a tabletop, result gave the first reasonably accurate calculation of Earth’s mass and density and the torsion-balance method it introduced remained the standard for over a century. The reservation on record is cavendish’s famously reclusive nature meant the result was not widely publicised or built upon for years.
Classical physicsHistoric breakthrough
Score breakdown
How The Cavendish Experiment earned 76.8
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Scientific Instruments.
- Scientific yieldweight 35%
- 76.3
- Engineering ingenuityweight 25%
- 74.8
- Operational lifespanweight 20%
- 79.1
- Influence on later instrumentsweight 20%
- 77.7
On the record
Recorded detail
| Year | 1798 |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Physics |
| Country | England |
| Rating | 8.2 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- First experiment sensitive enough to measure gravitational attraction between two objects on a tabletop
- Result gave the first reasonably accurate calculation of Earth’s mass and density
- The torsion-balance method it introduced remained the standard for over a century
Where it gives ground
- Cavendish’s famously reclusive nature meant the result was not widely publicised or built upon for years
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
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Galileo Galilei · 1609, Padua
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Rank 06The Cyclotron
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