BRITISH SCIENTISTS TO SEARCH FOR "ANTI-GRAVITY" FORCE

ANTI-GRAVITY

LONDON (OCT. 28) XINHUA - A TEAM OF BRITISH SCIENTISTS IS SETTING UP AN
EXPERIMENT TO SEARCH FOR AN "ANTI-GRAVITY" FORCE, "THE TIMES" NEWSPAPER
REPORTED TODAY.

MOST OF THE EXPERIMENTS IN THE WORLD TO DATE HAVE NOT BEEN SUFFICIENTLY
SENSITIVE TO DETECT THE "ANTI-GRAVITY" FORCE, SAID PROFESSOR KEITH RUNCORN
LEADER OF THE RESEARCH TEAM, AT THE PHYSICS DEPARTMENT OF NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY.

THE UNIVERSITY HAS WON SUPPORT FROM THE SCIENCE AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
RESEARCH COUNCILS TO SET UP SENSITIVE GRAVITY-MEASURING INSTRUMENTS AROUND THE
VAST DRY DOCKS IN PORTSMOUTH, SOUTHAMPTON AND BELFAST IN BRITAIN AS WELL AS
BREST IN FRANCE.

A CHANGE IN THE GRAVITATIONAL FIELD OCCURS WHEN THOUSANDS OF TONNES OF WATER
POURING THROUGH THE SLUICES IS MEASURED DOWN TO ONE THOUSAND-MILLIONTH OF THE
STRENGTH OF THE EARTH'S GRAVITATIONAL FIELD.

IF THE "ANTI-GRAVITY" FORCE EXISTS, THE INCREASE IN GRAVITY CAUSED BY THE
WEIGHT OF WATER WILL BE LESS THAN THAT CALCULATED WITH CONVENTIONAL THEORY.

PROFESSOR RUNCORN EXPRESSED HIS CONFIDENCE THAT THEY COULD DETECT THE VALUE OF
THE "ANTI-GRAVITY" FORCE.

THE FIRST SERIOUS ATTEMPTS TO DETECT THE FORCE AT THE DOCKS WILL BEGIN LATER
THIS YEAR, THE NEWSPAPER SAID.

THE "ANTI-GRAVITY" FORCE IS THOUGHT TO WEAKEN GRAVITY BY ABOUT ONE PERCENT OVER
DISTANCES FROM A FEW YARDS TO ONE MILE.

HOWEVER, PROFESSOR MICHAEL GREEN OF LONDON'S QUEEN MARY COLLEGE, AN AUTHORITY
ON THE THEORY OF THE FUNDAMENTAL FORCES OF NATURE, IS VERY SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE
EXISTENCE OF THE "ANTI-GRAVITY" FORCE, THE NEWSPAPER ADDED.

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