Probably the most promising way of detecting cosmic neutrinos is measuring the mechanical force exerted by elastic scattering of cosmic neutrinos from macroscopic targets. The expected acceleration is∼10−23&hthinsp;cm/s2for Dirac neutrinos of mass ∼10 eV and local density∼107/cm3.A novel torsion balance design is presented, which addresses the sensitivity-limiting factors of existing balances, such as seismic and thermal noise, and angular readout resolution and stability. ©1999 American Institute of Physics.