PHYSICAL GEODESY

(GRAVIMETRY)
A LECTURE PREPARED BY:
ENGR. A.A.WALSIYEN, JR. MA(EHP)
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF GEODETIC/CIVIL
ENGINEERING
 GRAVIMETRY
• GRAVIMETRY – THE SCIENCE WHICH DEALS
WITH THE EFFECTS OF GRAVITY AT
DIFFERENT POINTS ON THE EARTH’S
SURFACE.

• GRAVITY – THAT FORCE WHICH TENDS TO

PULL BODIES TOWARDS THE EARTH: I.E. TO
GIVE BODIES WEIGHT.
• GRAVITY IS THE RESULTANT OF TWO OPPOSING FORCES:
GRAVITATION AND THE CENTRIFUGAL FORCE DUE TO THE ROTATION
OF THE EARTH.
 GRAVIMETRY
• GRAVITY WOULD BE TAKEN TO MEAN THE
RESULTANT OBTAINED BY COMBINING THE
FORCE OF THE EARTH’S ATTRACTION DUE
TO GRAVITY AND THE CENTRIFUGAL FORCE
DUE TO THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH
• GRAVITATION – IN GENERAL, THE MUTUAL
ATTRACTION BETWEEN MASSES OF
MATTER.
• IN GEODESY, THE MUTUAL ATTRACTION
BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE BODIES ON
OR NEAR ITS SURFACE.
 NEWTON’S LAW ON UNIVERSAL
GRAVITATION
• THE LAW: THE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE
BETWEEN OBJECTS DEPENDS ON THEIR
MASSES AND THEIR DISTANCE OF
SEPARATION

• FUNDAMENTAL OBSERVATIONS ON
GRAVITATION:
1. THE FORCE BETWEEN TWO
ATTRACTING BODIES IS PROPORTIONAL
TO THE INDIVIDUAL MASSES
2. THE FORCE IS INVERSELY PROPORTIOAL TO
THE SQUARE OF THE DISTANCE
3. THE FORCE IS DIRECTED ALONG THE LINE
CONNECTING THE TWO BODIES

NEWTON’S LAW ON UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION:

- --every particle attracts every other particle
in the universe with a force which is directly
proportional to the product of their masses
and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between their centers.
 FG = GM1M2/RSQUARE
WHERE:

FG = MAGNITUDE OF THE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE

OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN THE TWO OBJECTS.
M1 = MASS OF THE FIRST OBJECT
M2 = MASS OF THE SECOND OBJECT
R = DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO OBJECTS
G = UNIVERSAL GRAVITATIONAL CONSTANT
= 6.674×10−11 m 3/s 2/kg
• UNIT OF GRAVITATION
1 GAL. = 10 −2 m/s2 = 1 cm/s2

1 mGal = 10 −5 m/s2

1 microGal = 10 −8 m/s2
 GRAVITY DETERMINATION
• THE PENDULUM