Progress in Precise Measurements of the Gravitational Constant

The Newtonian gravitational constant G , which is one of the earliest fundamental constants introduced by human beings, plays an important role in cosmology, astrophysics, geophysics, metrology, and so on. In spite of the measurement of G having a relative longer history and more than 200 measurement results having been obtained during the past 200 years, G still remains the least precisely known among all fundamental physical constants up to now. Over the past three decades, many experimental physicists devoted themselves to the G measurement with various methods and resulted in a dozen precise values of G . However, the determined results are still in poor agreement with each other. A brief overview of the significance of the gravitational constant G is given herein, followed by an introduction into the history of G measurement. A summary of the five latest precise measurements performed during the past few years is presented. Finally, an outlook of the future development of G measurement is provided.