A ballistic gravimeter with dropping holographic grating

The principle of operation of a ballistic laser gravimeter based on a dropping holographic diffraction grating is described. The free-fall acceleration of the grating is determined from a change in the frequency of beats that arise during the interference of light beams diffracted on the hologram in the zeroth and first orders of diffraction. An experiment demonstrating this principle of measurement is described. The main distinctive features of the proposed gravimeter are simple design, compact size, and the possibility of using this device for analysis of high-frequency fluctuations in the gravitational-field strength.