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US military has learned to quietly track radio signals of all frequencies

US military has learned to quietly track radio signals of all frequencies 1

US military experiments have shown , that they created a quantum receiver is able to pick up signals from all radio frequency range.

Scientists from the Army Research Laboratory have developed a quantum detector capable of detecting signals from the entire spectrum of radio waves with just one antenna. Conventional instruments cannot recognize such a wide range of radiation unless they are equipped with multiple antennas and amplifiers.

The American quantum detector uses Rydberg supersensitive excited atoms to detect electromagnetic fields and waves. You can turn an ordinary atom into a Rydberg atom using laser radiation.

An electron on the outer shell, usually a single shell, is transferred using a laser an amount of energy close to the ionization threshold – the separation of an electron from an atom. As a result, the excited electron moves away from the nucleus. The distance between the electron and the nucleus can increase up to a million times. At such distances, an excited electron feels a weaker electrostatic field of the nucleus and reacts more strongly to external electromagnetic influences.

In the work, scientists quantified the sensitivity of the sensor to the effects of oscillating electric fields. The field oscillation frequency that the receiver successfully registers ranges from 0 to 100 gigahertz. Such results cannot be achieved using devices based on electro-optical crystals or passive electronics with a dipole antenna.

“Another advantage of a quantum receiver is its size,” said David Meyer, a research fellow at the US Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Laboratory, “The new sensors are small and almost invisible. In addition, quantum mechanics allows a very accurate calibration of each sensor. ”

Rydberg’s atoms have recently begun to be used in devices for the detection of electromagnetic fields, including radio signals. 

Thanks to a new study, a quantitative description of the sensitivity of such detectors has appeared. In the future, scientists intend to enhance sensitivity in order to record even the weakest signals.

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