Mechanical isolation of equipment is a long‐standing problem for experimenters. For example, in 1895, Sir Charles Vernon Boys was working in Oxford, determining Newton's gravitational constant. He generally worked on Sunday night between midnight and 6:00 am. According to Boys, “The daytime, of course, is out of the question, owing to the rattling traffic on the stones in St. Giles', about a quarter of a mile away.” Boys was also troubled by rail traffic, wind, and even an earthquake.

Topics
Fundamental constants, Earthquakes
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© 1978 American Institute of Physics.
1978
American Institute of Physics
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