Test of Newton’s inverse-square law in the Greenland ice cap

Mark E. Ander; Mark A. Zumberge; Ted Lautzenhiser; Robert L. Parker; Carlos L. V. Aiken; Michael R. Gorman; Michael Martin Nieto; A. Paul R. Cooper; John F. Ferguson; Elizabeth Fisher; George A. McMechan; Glenn Sasagawa; J. Mark Stevenson; George Backus; Alan D. Chave; James Greer; Phil Hammer; B. Lyle Hansen; John A. Hildebrand; John R. Kelty; Cyndi Sidles; Jim Wirtz

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.62.985

Test of Newton’s inverse-square law in the Greenland ice cap

Mark E. Ander, Mark A. Zumberge, Ted Lautzenhiser, Robert L. Parker, Carlos L. V. Aiken, Michael R. Gorman, Michael Martin Nieto, A. Paul R. Cooper, John F. Ferguson, Elizabeth Fisher, George A. McMechan, Glenn Sasagawa, J. Mark Stevenson, George Backus, Alan D. Chave, James Greer, Phil Hammer, B. Lyle Hansen, John A. Hildebrand, John R. Kelty, Cyndi Sidles, and Jim Wirtz

Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 985 – Published 27 February 1989

Abstract

An Airy-type geophysical experiment was conducted in a 2-km-deep hole in the Greenland ice cap at depths between 213 and 1673 m to test for possible violations of Newton’s inverse-square law. An anomalous gravity gradient was observed. We cannot unambiguously attribute it to a breakdown of Newtonian gravity because we have shown that it might be due to unexpected geological features in the rock below the ice.

Received 24 October 1988

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.62.985

Authors & Affiliations

Mark E. Ander, Mark A. Zumberge, Ted Lautzenhiser, Robert L. Parker, Carlos L. V. Aiken, Michael R. Gorman, Michael Martin Nieto, A. Paul R. Cooper, John F. Ferguson, Elizabeth Fisher, George A. McMechan, Glenn Sasagawa, J. Mark Stevenson, George Backus, Alan D. Chave, James Greer, Phil Hammer, B. Lyle Hansen, John A. Hildebrand, John R. Kelty, Cyndi Sidles, and Jim Wirtz

University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California 92093
Amoco Production Co., P.O. Box 3385, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74102
University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
Cambridge University, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge CB2 1ER, England
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge CB3 0ET, England
Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
University of Colorado, UNAVCO, CIRES/449, Boulder, Colorado 80309
University of Nebraska, Polar Ice Coring Office, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588