Aitzaz Rai
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Scientists from the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL) are in the process of developing a novel navigation system for submarines, known as quantum Positioning which could be 1000 times more accurate than current systems. The prototype is expected to be trialed on land in 2015 and, if successful, the team hope that it could eventually be commercialized and used in the civilian world.
Submarines rely on accelerometers for navigation after they submerge since GPS doesn’t work underwater. accelerometers are devices that measure the force of acceleration. They’re surprisingly common; the rotation of your smartphone screen with your movement is down to this technology.
Although they're widely used, unfortunately, these navigation systems can be inaccurate in vessels. “Today, if a submarine goes a day without a GPS fix we’ll have a navigation drift of the order of a kilometer when it surfaces,” DSTL’s Neil Stansfield. “A quantum accelerometer will reduce that to just 1 meter.”
This is based on a noble prize winning discovery which described how lasers can trap and cool a cloud of atoms to just above absolute zero. Once the atoms reach this temperature they reach a quantum state that is particularly sensitive to outside forces. By tracking changes in the atoms with a laser, calculations can be made to determine size of the force which corresponds to the movements of the submarine.
This new technology should also make navigation systems less susceptible to interference. “There is nothing in physics that could be used- given the knowledge we have now- to disrupt one of these [new] devices,” Bob Cockshott of the NPL told
Submarines rely on accelerometers for navigation after they submerge since GPS doesn’t work underwater. accelerometers are devices that measure the force of acceleration. They’re surprisingly common; the rotation of your smartphone screen with your movement is down to this technology.
Although they're widely used, unfortunately, these navigation systems can be inaccurate in vessels. “Today, if a submarine goes a day without a GPS fix we’ll have a navigation drift of the order of a kilometer when it surfaces,” DSTL’s Neil Stansfield. “A quantum accelerometer will reduce that to just 1 meter.”
This is based on a noble prize winning discovery which described how lasers can trap and cool a cloud of atoms to just above absolute zero. Once the atoms reach this temperature they reach a quantum state that is particularly sensitive to outside forces. By tracking changes in the atoms with a laser, calculations can be made to determine size of the force which corresponds to the movements of the submarine.
This new technology should also make navigation systems less susceptible to interference. “There is nothing in physics that could be used- given the knowledge we have now- to disrupt one of these [new] devices,” Bob Cockshott of the NPL told
