Delta g maximum is when the rate of change in the net gravitational force vector is the greatest. It is an interesting phenomenon that has not always been repeatable, but it has shown up often enough in well-controlled situations that it shouldn't be written off as an artifact...yet.
Good but old overview:
http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/head...t06aug99_1.htm
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf074/sf074a05.htm
There was a lot of anticipatation prior to the 1999 solar eclipse, but very little follow-up on what was actually observed. I suspect the results were rather ambiguous:
http://pass.maths.org/issue9/xfile/
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Tis year's eclipse in August, NASA and other groups attempted a range of experiments to finally confirm or deny the result. Their conclusions are still awaited, though at PASS Maths we have already heard that one laboratory in Austria replicated the effect.
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http://home.t01.itscom.net/allais/bl...a/wuchterl.htm
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...We propose a mechanism, based on pressure-modulated air drag, to account for the observed deviations. An eclipse-effect on a Foucault pendulum can then be explained as air drag modulation caused by the atmospheric pressure modulations due to the moon's shadow.
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Obviously, more testing is needed.