Chinese team says quantum physics project moves radar closer to detecting stealth aircraft
- Quantum particles in a man-made electromagnetic storm bounced back after hitting stealth object, increasing chance of detection, according to scientists
- The Tsinghua University researchers are seeking an industrial partner to build a full-sized prototype
Most radars are known for having a fixed or rotating dish, but this quantum radar looks more like a gun and could accelerate electrons to almost the speed of light. The electrons, after going through a winding tube in extremely strong magnetic fields, could produce a vortex of microwaves that barge forward like a tornado.
The new quantum radar would be more sophisticated than any previous radar systems and building it would not be an easy job, said Professor Zhang Chao and his team at Tsinghua University’s aerospace engineering school in a paper in Journal of Radars, a Chinese peer-reviewed publication, on Tuesday.
But “the better the stealth technology, the higher the gain” of the new quantum radar would be, they said.
The fundamental particles in this man-made electromagnetic storm would have some strange properties, the researchers said. Each had a spiralling momentum that did not decrease over time or distance, for instance.