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The Present Status of the Technological Development of Remote Monitoring Systems
Let me begin with some comments about transparency. We all have some perception or vision about the use of transparency for nuclear technology and nuclear non-proliferation. Although we probably have some common understanding of what it implies, there is no precise definition that is agreed upon. One of the most significant ideas in transparency is that it is considered to be a voluntary or unilateral action. The party, or organization, or nation that wants its activities to be transparent voluntarily provides information to other parties with the expectation of receiving some acceptance or good will in return. The organization giving the information determines what information to provide, how much, how often, and when. This is in contrast to official treaties and monitoring regimes, in which specific verification information and activities are prescribed. This should have the advantage for the transparent organization of being less intrusive and less costly than a treaty monitoring regime. Information related to sensitive nuclear technology, proprietary processes, and physical security is more easily protected. The difficultly for both parties, the transparent organization and the information recipients, is in determining what information is necessary for the desired confidence building. It must be recognized that this state of transparency or confidence will only be achieved over an extended period of time, when history confirms that the information was reliable in conveying the true picture
www.springerreference.com/docs/html/chapterdbid/60497.html Mechanical Computing: The Computational Complexity of Physical Devices
- Mechanism: A machine or part of a machine that performs a particular task computation: the use of a computer for calculation.- Computable: Capable of being worked out by calculation, especially using a computer.- Simulation: Used to denote both the modeling of a physical system by a computer as well as the modeling of the operation of a computer by a mechanical system; the difference will be clear from the context. Definition of the Subject Mechanical devices for computation appear to be largely displaced by the widespread use of microprocessor-based computers that are pervading almost all aspects of our lives. Nevertheless, mechanical devices for computation are of interest for at least three reasons: (a) Historical: The use of mechanical devices for computation is of central importance in the historical study of technologies, with a history dating back thousands of years and with surprising applications even in relatively recent times. (b) Technical & Practical: The use of mechanical devices for computation persists and has not yet been completely displaced by widespread use of microprocessor-based computers. Mechanical computers have found applications in various emerging technologies at the micro-scale that combine mechanical functions with computational and control functions not feasible by purely electronic processing. Mechanical computers also have been demonstrated at the molecular scale, and may also provide unique capabilities at that scale. The physical designs for these modern micro and molecular-scale mechanical computers may be based on the prior designs of the large-scale mechanical computers constructed in the past. (c) Impact of Physical Assumptions on Complexity of Motion Planning, Design, and Simulation: The study of computation done by mechanical devices is also of central importance in providing lower bounds on the computational resources such as time and/or space required to simulate a mechanical syste