Remotely monitoring suspect nuclear reactors using antineutrinos
A consortium of American and British science institutions, led by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), is working on a way to use antineutrinos to remotely monitor nuclear reactors. Sponsored by the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, the Advanced Instrumentation Testbed (AIT) program is installing the 3,500-ton WATer CHerenkov Monitor of ANtineutrinos (WATCHMAN) detector in a 1,100-meter-deep (3,600 ft) mine located on the northeast coast of England as part of international nuclear weapon non-proliferation efforts.
Controlling the spread of nuclear weapons is a major international concern, and a key aspect of this is being able to remotely monitor nuclear fission reactors to ensure that they aren't being used for the production of weapons-grade plutonium. This remote sensing is needed at both short range to examine reactors without having to remove their fuel rod assemblies, and at long distances to assess reactors in the hands of unfriendly powers.
One promising method for doing this uses antineutrinos. Discovered in 1950, the antineutrino is the antimatter version of the neutrino and is produced in nuclear reactions when a neutron decays into an electron, a proton, and a neutrino. Like the neutrino, antineutrinos are the tiniest of elementary particles, with a mass a million times smaller than an electron and no electric charge.
(责任编辑:行业动态)
- ·13 Unbelievable Underwater Wonders in Florida
- ·YouTuber Nat's What I Reckon threw jar sauce in the bin to empower people
- ·2020 iPhones will come with smaller and larger screens
- ·N. Koreans visit Olympic venues for second day
- ·If aliens harnessed solar power, could we detect them? NASA investigated.
- ·Skiers train at Masikryong
- ·North Korean delegation inspects concert venues in Seoul
- ·N. Korea still has possibility of provocation: top S. Korean diplomat
- ·A global problem is preventing the wars in Ukraine and Gaza from coming to an end.
- ·North Korean delegation inspects concert venues in Seoul [PHOTOS]
- ·16 of the Most Epic Sandwiches Around the Planet
- ·Djokovic, Alcaraz in era
- ·Tottenham's Iwabuchi axed from Japan squad
- ·Key joins Alfa Romeo F1 team
- ·Game Plan
- ·过去买房子 如今买生活品质
- ·芦山县开展霍乱防控应急演练
- ·Elon Musk says we're only 2 years from being able to nap in self
- ·Sinkhole swallows up car, injuring 2 in Seoul
- ·Ivanka rekindles hopes for US