A Simple Experiment Testing Quantum Mechanics and Gravity

Quantum Astrobiology Center along with University of Houston and another Texas university will perform a novel experiment testing Planck masses and gravity. This research began with cosmology, an expanding Universe of scale R = ct, where c is speed of light and t is age of Universe. Gravity would then cause expansion to slow over time. The surprising prediction of the speed of light varying by 0.72 cm/sec/yr has been verified by data from our Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment, and may be further tested by the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space aboard ISS. In Planck units two equations combine as M = R = t, suggesting that these tiny units are fundamental. The Planck mass is an observable quantity similar to a flea’s egg. We place two spherical masses on a level low-friction surface, grounded within a vacuum chamber, and observe for gravitational attraction. A negative result suggests that gravitational mass is quantized at the Planck scale. Quantum mechanics has applications for astrobiology and living cells, explaining why most cells are limited by the Planck mass. This continuing research may connect cosmology of the large Universe with the microscopic world.