Publications Details
Fiber-optic shock position sensor
This report describes work performed for the development of a fiber-optic shock position sensor used to measure the location of a shock front in the neighborhood of a nuclear explosion. Such a measurement would provide a hydrodynamic determination of nuclear yield. The original proposal was prompted by the Defense Nuclear Agency`s interest in replacing as many electrical sensors as possible with their optical counterparts for the verification of a treaty limiting the yield of a nuclear device used in underground testing. Immunity to electromagnetic pulse is the reason for the agency`s interest; unlike electrical sensors and their associated cabling, fiber-optic systems do not transmit to the outside world noise pulses from the device containing secret information.