Borehole Measurement of the Newtonian Gravitational Constant
ALBERT T. HSUI 1
1 U.S. Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, MA 01731, and Earth Resources Laboratory, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142.
It has been reported that the geophysically determined Newtonian gravitational constant is consistently larger than the laboratory value by 1 to 2% on the basis of gravity measurements in Australian mines. This discrepancy may have strong implications for the physics of gravitation. To test whether similar results can be observed in a different geological environment, gravity measurements in a Michigan borehole have been examined. Although these results cannot be taken as conclusive, owing to the large uncertainties involved in mass determination on a geophysical scale, these measurements are generally consistent with those of the Australian experiment.
Submitted on March 23, 1987
Accepted on May 26, 1987
