Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2025

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
MICROSCOPE's view at gravitation
1DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France.
Abstract:
The weak equivalence principle (WEP) is the cornerstone of general relativity (GR). Testing it is thus a natural way to confront GR to experiments, which has been pursued for four centuries with increasing precision. MICROSCOPE is a space mission designed to test the WEP with a precision of 1 in 1015parts, two orders of magnitude better than previous experimental constraints. After completing its two-year mission, from 2016 to 2018, MICROSCOPE delivered unprecedented precise constraintsη(Ti,Pt)=[-1.5±2.3 (stat)±1.5 (syst)]×10-15(at 1σin statistical errors) on the Eötvös parameter between one proof mass made of titanium and another made of platinum. This bound allowed for improved constraints on alternative theories of gravitation. This review discusses the science beyond MICROSCOPE-GR and its alternatives, with an emphasis on scalar-tensor theories-before presenting the experimental concept and apparatus. The mission's science returns are then discussed before future tests of the WEP are introduced.
More Related Videos
13:59Reduced-gravity Environment Hardware Demonstrations of a Prototype Miniaturized Flow Cytometer and Companion Microfluidic Mixing Technology
Published on: November 13, 2014
08:13A Guide to Build a Highly Inclined Swept Tile Microscope for Extended Field-of-view Single-molecule Imaging
Published on: April 8, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Newton's Law of Gravitation
Gravitation
Newton's Law of Gravitational Attraction
Newton's law of gravitational attraction is a fundamental law of physics that governs the attraction between objects. It states that the magnitude of the gravitational force between any two objects is proportional to their masses and inversely...
Overview of Microscopy Techniques
Gravitation Between Spherically Symmetric Masses
Gravity between Spherical Bodies
This assumption can be proved easily by showing that the expression for gravitational potential energy between a hollow sphere of mass (M) and a point mass (m) is the same as it would be for a pair of extended...