Source Mass and positioning system for an accurate measurement of G

We report on a system of well-characterized source masses and their precision positioning system for a measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constantG using atoms as probes. The masses are 24 cylinders of 50mm nominal radius, 150.2mm nominal height, and mass of about 21.5kg, sintered starting from a mixture of 95.3% W, 3.2% Ni, and 1.5% Cu. Density homogeneity and cylindrical geometry have been carefully investigated. The positioning system independently moves two groups of 12 cylinders along the vertical direction by tens of centimeters with a reproducibility of a few microns. The whole system is compatible with a resolution ΔG/G<10−4.