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Students ask (each year) if they can measure attraction
rather than repulsion. I say, "Sure, give it a try." Of course no one is
successful. As far as I can tell (both theoretically and experimentally) it
is not doable.
If the torsion wire is stiff enough to allow a stable
equilibrium for attractive forces, then it is not sensitive enough to yield
a meaningful measurement. If it is weak enough to allow sufficient
sensitivity for a meaningful measurement, you simply cannot attain a stable
equilibrium.