Non-Newtonian gravitational forces and the Greenland ice-sheet experiment

• Main Authors: Hughes, R.J., Goldman, T., Nieto, M.M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Los Alamos National Laboratory 1989
• Subjects: Greenland; Testing; Measuring Methods; Earth Planet; Planets 657003* > Theoretical & Mathematical Physics > Relativity & Gravitation; 71 Classical And Quantum Mechanics; General Physics; Gravitation; Ice cap; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1111924/

The results of an experiment to test Newton's Inverse-Square Law of Gravitation in the Greenland ice-cap were announced recently. The anomalous gravity gradient which was found can be explained either by an unrecognized anomaly in the density of the rocks under the ice sheet, or by the existence of a non-Newtonian component of the gravitational force. Here we focus on the latter possibility, and find that the force would be attractive, with a strength between about 2.4% and 3.5% that of Newtonian gravity, and a range between about 225 m and 5.4 km. 11 refs.