Photograph of Meinesz' Improved pendulum apparatus
- Made:
- 1925 in unknown
- designer:
- Prof Felix Andries Vening Meinesz
Photograph of Meinesz' Improved pendulum apparatus, made in 1925 and used onboard the Dutch Royal Navy submarine K XI during a voyage to Tunis and eventually Sabang, Indonesia.
Gravity pendulums measure coincidences between the movement of the swinging pendulum's, and the chronometer, which would change depending on the specific gravity the pendulum was experiencing. Calculation could then be made which could determine both the varying density and varying gravity of the earth's crust.
This improved pedulum apparatus was developed and introduced by Dr. Meinesz in 1925 and was used in two of his many 'gravity expeditions at sea', first on the HNLMS K XI in 1925 on a voyage to Alexandria, and then on the HNLMS K XIII in 1926 on a voyage to Java.
The new design included innovations from some of Meinesz's contemporaries in geophysics, such as von Sterneck . It was capable of developing a complete gravitations observation in 35 minutes.