Gravimetry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the chemical analysis technique, see Gravimetric analysis.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding
citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Gravimetry" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn
how and when to remove this template message)

Gravity anomalies covering the Southern Ocean are shown here in false-color relief. Amplitudes
range between −30 mGal (magenta) to +30 mGal (red). This image has been normalized to remove
variation due to differences in latitude

Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used
when either the magnitude of gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its
creation are of interest.

Contents

1 Units of measurement

2 Measuring gravity

3 Microgravimetry

4 History

5 See also

6 References

Units of measurement

Gravity is usually measured in units of acceleration. In the SI system of units, the standard unit of
acceleration is 1 metre per second squared (abbreviated as m/s2). Other units include the gal
(sometimes known as a galileo, in either case with symbol Gal), which equals 1 centimetre per
second squared, and the g (gn), equal to 9.80665 m/s2. The value of the gn approximately equals the
acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface (although the value of g varies by location).
Measuring gravity

Further information: Gravimeter

An instrument used to measure gravity is known as a gravimeter, or gravinometer. For a small body,
general relativity predicts gravitational effects indistinguishable from the effects of acceleration by
the equivalence principle. Thus, gravimeters can be regarded as special-purpose accelerometers.
Many weighing scales may be regarded as simple gravimeters. In one common form, a spring is used
to counteract the force of gravity pulling on an object. The change in length of the spring may be
calibrated to the force required to balance the gravitational pull. The resulting measurement may be
made in units of force (such as the newton), but is more commonly made in units of gals.

Researchers use more sophisticated gravimeters when precise measurements are needed. When
measuring the Earth's gravitational field, measurements are made to the precision of microgals to
find density variations in the rocks making up the Earth. Several types of gravimeters exist for making
these measurements, including some that are essentially refined versions of the spring scale
described above. These measurements are used to define gravity anomalies.

Besides precision, stability is also an important property of a gravimeter, as it allows the monitoring
of gravity changes. These changes can be the result of mass displacements inside the Earth, or of
vertical movements of the Earth's crust on which measurements are being made: remember that
gravity decreases 0.3 mGal for every metre of height. The study of gravity changes belongs to
geodynamics.

The majority of modern gravimeters use specially-designed metal or quartz zero-length springs to
support the test mass. Zero-length springs do not follow Hooke's Law, instead they have a force
proportional to their length. The special property of these springs is that the natural resonant period
of oscillation of the spring-mass system can be made very long - approaching a thousand seconds.
This detunes the test mass from most local vibration and mechanical noise, increasing the sensitivity
and utility of the gravimeter. Quartz and metal springs are chosen for different reasons; quartz
springs are less affected by magnetic and electric fields while metal springs have a much lower drift
(elongation) with time. The test mass is sealed in an air-tight container so that tiny changes of
barometric pressure from blowing wind and other weather do not change the buoyancy of the test
mass in air.

Spring gravimeters are, in practice, relative instruments which measure the difference in gravity
between different locations. A relative instrument also requires calibration by comparing instrument
readings taken at locations with known complete or absolute values of gravity. Absolute gravimeters
provide such measurements by determining the gravitational acceleration of a test mass in vacuum.
A test mass is allowed to fall freely inside a vacuum chamber and its position is measured with a laser
interferometer and timed with an atomic clock. The laser wavelength is known to ±0.025 ppb and the
clock is stable to ±0.03 ppb as well. Great care must be taken to minimize the effects of perturbing
forces such as residual air resistance (even in vacuum), vibration, and magnetic forces. Such
instruments are capable of an accuracy of about two parts per billion or 0.002 mGal[1] and reference
their measurement to atomic standards of length and time. Their primary use is for calibrating
relative instruments, monitoring crustal deformation, and in geophysical studies requiring high
accuracy and stability. However, absolute instruments are somewhat larger and significantly more
expensive than relative spring gravimeters, and are thus relatively rare.

Gravimeters have been designed to mount in vehicles, including aircraft (note the field of
aerogravity[2]), ships and submarines. These special gravimeters isolate acceleration from the
movement of the vehicle and subtract it from measurements. The acceleration of the vehicles is
often hundreds or thousands of times stronger than the changes being measured.

A gravimeter (the Lunar Surface Gravimeter) deployed on the surface of the moon during the Apollo
17 mission did not work due to a design error. A second device (the Traverse Gravimeter Experiment)
functioned as anticipated.

Microgravimetry

Microgravimetry is a rising and important branch developed on the foundation of classical

gravimetry. Microgravity investigations are carried out in order to solve various problems of
engineering geology, mainly location of voids and their monitoring. Very detailed measurements of
high accuracy can indicate voids of any origin, provided the size and depth are large enough to
produce gravity effect stronger than is the level of confidence of relevant gravity signal.

History

The modern gravimeter was developed by Lucien LaCoste and Arnold Romberg in 1936.

They also invented most subsequent refinements, including the ship-mounted gravimeter, in 1965,
temperature-resistant instruments for deep boreholes, and lightweight hand-carried instruments.
Most of their designs remain in use (2005) with refinements in data collection and data processing.