14,983 research outputs found
Far Field Monitoring of Rogue Nuclear Activity with an Array of Large anti-neutrino Detectors
The result of a study on the use of an array of large anti-neutrino detectors
for the purpose of monitoring rogue nuclear activity is presented. Targeted
regional monitoring of a nation bordering large bodies of water with no
pre-existing legal nuclear activity may be possible at a cost of about several
billion dollars, assuming several as-yet-untested schemes pan out in the next
two decades. These are: (1) the enabling of a water-based detector to detect
reactor anti-neutrinos by doping with GdCl; (2) the deployment of a
KamLAND-like detector in a deep-sea environment; and (3) the scaling of a
Super-Kamiokande-like detector to a size of one or more megatons. The first may
well prove feasible, and should be tested by phase-III Super-Kamiokande in the
next few years. The second is more of a challenge, but may well be tested by
the Hanohano collaboration in the coming decade. The third is perhaps the least
certain, with no schedule for construction of any such device in the
foreseeable future. In addition to the regional monitoring scheme, several
global, untargeted monitoring schemes were considered. All schemes were found
to fail benchmark sensitivity levels by a wide margin, and to cost at least
several trillion dollars.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, proceedings for Neutrino Sciences 2005,
submitted to Earth, Moon, and Planet
Quest for a Nuclear Georeactor
Knowledge about the interior of our planet is mainly based on the
interpretation of seismic data from earthquakes and nuclear explosions, and of
composition of meteorites. Additional observations have led to a wide range of
hypotheses on the heat flow from the interior to the crust, the abundance of
certain noble gases in gasses vented from volcanoes and the possibility of a
nuclear georeactor at the centre of the Earth. This paper focuses on a proposal
for an underground laboratory to further develop antineutrinos as a tool to map
the distribution of radiogenic heat sources, such as the natural radionuclides
and the hypothetical nuclear georeactor.Comment: Invited talk presented at the International Symposium on Radiation
Physics, Cape Town, 2003. Manuscript is submitted to Radiation Physics and
Chemistr
Time-shared Cathode Ray Tube
Time-shared cathode tube provides high quality display at low cost display stations which utilize television moniters. It updates a cluster of graphic displays from a computer and is useful in systems not equipped for graphics time-sharing
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