A quantum precision quantum positioning system that could be used as a backup in GPS British scientists are developing.
According to a New Scientist report, the system will test 2016 from a British submarine, which will sail under his guidance. As mentioned, this system will be able to record the position of the vessel accurately 1.000 times larger than anything else in the past.
If the test is successful, the system in question could be scaled up for use in planes, trains, cars, and even mobile phones or autonomous/self-driving vehicles - generally in devices and systems where loss of GPS signal can be dangerous.
The GPS does not work below the surface of the water, so submarines navigate using animeometers to record the ship's movements after falling down and losing the last stigma - but this system is not too expensive.
"Today, if a submarine goes a day without a GPS track, then we will have a navigational error of the order of one kilometer when it surfaces," Neil Stansfield of the UK's Defense Science and Technology told New Scientist. Technology Laboratory (DSTL). "A quantum accelerometer would reduce that to one meter."
To create the ultrasensitive quantum accelerometers, Stansfield's team was inspired by discovery (η οποία τιμήθηκε με Νόμπελ το 1997) ότι ακτίνες λέιζερ μπορούν να «παγιδεύσουν» και να ψύξουν ένα νέφος ατόμων σε κενό σε ένα κλάσμα βαθμού πάνω από το απόλυτο μηδέν. Μετά την ψύξη, τα άτομα επιτυγχάνουν μια κβαντική κατάσταση η οποία διαταράσσεται εύκολα από εξωτερικές δυνάμεις – και στη συνέχεια μία άλλη ακτίνα λέιζερ μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί για την παρακολούθησή τους. Οι μετρήσεις αυτές μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν για τον υπολογισμό του μεγέθους της εξωτερικής δύναμης που ασκήθηκε. Η ομάδα του DSTL επιδιώκει χρήση αυτού σε ένα υποβρύχιο, όπου το μέγεθος της εξωτερικής δύναμης θα αντιστοιχεί στις κινήσεις του σκάφους κάτω από την επιφάνεια.
The prototype quantum accelerometer looks like a one-meter shoebox, and will be tested on land in September 2015. It will initially work on just one axis, before two more sets of lasers and trapped atoms are added to "cover" movement on all three. dimensions. “Once we understand the first generations, we'll start scaling it down for others applicationssays Stansfield.
However, there is still a road, as the gauge can not yet distinguish between the effect of gravity and the accelerations arising from the movement of a boat - which creates the need for extremely accurate gravitational maps.
According to New Scientist, DSTL is not the only body working on quantum navigation, as similar research is carried out by teams in USA, the China and Australia.
