The mountain that weighed the Earth
The mountain that weighed the Earth
The article describes the 1774 Schiehallion experiment, which was the first attempt to determine the Earth's mass by measuring the gravitational deflection of a plumb line caused by a mountain in Scotland. Led by Nevil Maskelyne and Charles Hutton, the experiment involved calculating the mountain's mass and comparing its density to that of the Earth, yielding a result within 20% of modern measurements. It also briefly mentions Henry Cavendish's later, more precise torsion balance experiment.
Note
i will never look at a scale the same again (and i'm going to put one on my head a lot more...)
Published
2026
Summary
The article describes the 1774 Schiehallion experiment, which was the first attempt to determine the Earth's mass by measuring the gravitational deflection of a plumb line caused by a mountain in Scotland. Led by Nevil Maskelyne and Charles Hutton, the experiment involved calculating the mountain's mass and comparing its density to that of the Earth, yielding a result within 20% of modern measurements. It also briefly mentions Henry Cavendish's later, more precise torsion balance experiment.
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