Measurement of small forces in the physics of gravitation and geophysics (

The measurement of weak forces or accelerations is of fundamental importance in a variety of problems in science and technology. This topic is addressed in this paper with particular attention to gravity measurements. A general review of the current gravity measurement techniques in geophysics, general relativity and gravitation is first presented. Then, a general description of the instruments used for gravitational measurements and a brief analysis of the noise sources are discussed.