Transformational nuclear sensors — Real-time monitoring of WMDs, risk assessment & response

Abstract

Transformational nuclear particle sensor systems have been developed for detecting a variety of radiation types via interactions with ordinary fluids such as water and acetone placed under metastable states of tensioned (yes, sub-zero or below-vacuum) liquid pressures at room temperature. Advancements have resulted in the development of lab-scale prototypes which provide real-time directionality information to within 10 degrees of a neutron emitting weapons of mass destruction (WMD) source, with over 90% intrinsic efficiency, with ability to decipher multiplicity and to detect WMD-shielded neutrons in the 0.01 eV range, to unshielded neutrons in the 1–10 MeV range, and with the ability to detect alpha emitting special nuclear material (SNM) signatures to within 1–5 keV in energy resolution, and detection sensitivities to ultratrace levels (i.e., to femto-grams per cc of SNMs such as Pu, and Am). The tension metastable fluid detector (TMFD) systems are robust, and are built in the laboratory with costs in the ∼$100+ range — with inherent gamma blindness capability. A multi-physics design framework (including nuclear particle transport, acoustics, structural dynamics, fluid-heat transfer, and electro-magnetics), has also been developed, and validated.