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March 30, 1867 was the day Secretary of State, William H. Seward purchased Alaska, 375 million acres, for $7.2 million, less than $0.02 an acre.
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Instruments \ Gravity \ Gravity Meters \
Name: |
Worden Gravity Meter |
Date: |
1987 |
Item Number: |
88.11.01 |
Donor: |
Colorado School of Mines |
Type: |
Worden Gravity Meter s/n 131 (Pioneer Model) |
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Manufacturer:
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Houston Technical Laboratories |
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Description:
According to Bob Neese, current owner of the Worden Gravity Meter Company:
Worden Gravity Meter s/n 131 measures gravity differences of the
earth and can detect 1 part in 100,000,000 of the normal gravity of the
earth. Under ideal conditions, this meter can measure gravity differences
of 0.01 milligal or 1 inch in elevation change. This particular type of
Worden meter continues to be in use today for exploration. It is a very
portable and accurate gravity meter. It is one of over 1500 Worden Gravity
Meters that have been manufactured.
Worden Gravity Meters - A General Overview
The Worden Gravity Meter is based on an elastic system constructed of
quartz. It is a three spring device employing a pretension of zero-length
mainspring to produce the necessary sensitivity. The basic mass is only
five milligrams, and the moment of inertia is very low. The low mass, together
with the almost perfect elastic qualities of quartz, makes the Worden Gravity
Meter a rugged instrument.
Sam Worden developed the Worden Gravity Meter in the late 1940's. In
1953, Worden Gravity Meter manufacturing (Houston Technical Laboratories)
was sold, by Worden, to Texas Instruments, and was Texas Instruments' first
entry into the geophysical equipment market. This made the Worden Gravity
Meter a very special item in the eyes of Texas Instrument's executives,
for many years.
In the mid 1980's, Texas Instruments sold its geophysical equipment
production facilities to Halliburton Geophysical Services. Halliburton
previewed all the products it acquired and decided to seek buyers for the
rights to manufacture and sell the instruments that were not considered
mass production or assembly-line products. The Worden Gravity Meter Division
was transfered in 1990 to Bob Neese who established the Worden Gravity
Meter Company in Richmond Texas in conjunction with other gravity operations
that had been founded by his father, Urban Neese. The manufacture and service
of the Worden Gravity Meter continues today as it has for over 50 years.
More than 1500 Worden Meters have been manufactured -- more than any other
type of gravity meter.
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