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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]