Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) researchers have made a ground-breaking discovery by revealing an ultra-sensitive magnetic detector that can detect minute signs of highly advanced submarines over great distances.
Recently, the results were published in the prestigious Journal of Ship Research (JSR).
The detector represents a big step towards changing the status quo in ocean surveillance, according to The Eurasian Times, and offers a potential alternative for submarine detection and tracking.
The study tests the possibility of detecting bubbles produced by nuclear submarines moving quickly that are almost invisible. These bubbles are a result of the contact between the hull of a submarine and the water around it as it gathers speed.
Cavitation and Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) are two fundamental phenomena that underpin conventional methods of submarine detection.
Cavitation refers to the process by which bubbles are generated and then collapse due to the interaction between the propellers and hull of a submarine while it is in motion inside a water medium. These air-filled cavities produce unique acoustic emissions that attackers endeavor to detect in order to determine the precise whereabouts of the submarine.
Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) is a standard technique that involves the identification of disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field resulting from the presence of ferromagnetic materials, particularly steel, which are commonly found in submarines. The utilization of this detection technique is implemented by Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) aircraft, which deploy specialized buoys for the purpose of locating submarines.
The researchers from China, however, have proposed an innovative methodology. It has been discovered that the cavitation bubbles emit Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) signals when subjected to an artificial electric field.
The ELF signals exhibit notable attributes that have the potential to exceed the sensitivity of sophisticated magnetic anomaly detectors by multiple orders of magnitude.
As the submarine undergoes motion, the phenomenon of cavitation occurs, leading to the expansion and subsequent displacement of cavitation bubbles from the submarine’s surface. These bubbles experience heightened pressure as they travel away from the surface, resulting in their forceful implosion and the subsequent generation of turbulence. The occurrence of turbulence gives rise to the phenomenon known as the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effect, which generates an electromagnetic signature. There exists a positive correlation between the magnitude of the electromagnetic field and the level of turbulence intensity.
Despite its subtle characteristics, Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) signals possess the ability to propagate over considerable distances inside water and even enter the ionosphere, afterwards returning to the Earth’s surface.
The utilization of this characteristic has been extensively employed by naval forces for the purpose of underwater communication, exemplified by China’s possession of a substantial antenna dedicated to transmitting Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) communications to its submarines.
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