Phys.org November 10, 2021
An international team of researchers (UK, Slovenia) reports on the configuration and operation of a nuclear instrumentation set-up designed to transmit digitally encoded information using fast neutrons. They measured the spontaneous emission of fast neutrons from californium-252, a radioactive isotope produced in nuclear reactors. Modulated emissions were measured using a detector and recorded. A word, the alphabet and a random number selected blindly, were encoded serially into the modulation of the neutron field and the output decoded on a laptop which recovered the encoded information on screen. A double-blind test was performed in which a number derived from a random number generator was encoded without prior knowledge of those uploading it, and then transmitted and decoded. All transmission tests were 100% successful. According to the researchers fast neutron radiation is a feasible medium for wireless communications for applications where conventional electromagnetic transmission is either not feasible, and they have advantage over conventionalweakened electromagnetic waves. Fast neutrons could also be incorporated into a mixed-signal which could contribute to the requirement to ensure the integrity of information transfer… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Wireless transmission protocols… Credit: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume 1021, 1 January 2022, 165946