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Chinese scientists develop gravity detector with potential use in submarine navigation
- The device’s other applications could include mobile missile launch and earthquake detection
- Unlike previous gravimeters, it takes only a couple of minutes to set up and calibrate and performs well despite noise, vibration and other disturbances
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Chinese researchers confirmed to the Post this week that they have developed a highly sensitive and portable gravity detector for military use, including underwater navigation.
The device’s portability and ease of use make it an ideal candidate for military applications such as mobile launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine navigation, according to the research team from Zhejiang University of Technology in the eastern city of Hangzhou.
The gravimeter could allow a submarine to detect the presence of an underwater mountain or another submarine without using sonar, helping to avoid accidents like the one that befell the nuclear submarine USS Connecticut, which crashed into a seamount in the South China Sea last year.
03:10
US submarine strikes unknown underwater object in disputed South China Sea
US submarine strikes unknown underwater object in disputed South China Sea
The scientists described their atomic gravimeter in Acta Physica Sinica, a peer-reviewed journal of the Chinese Physical Society, in April.
When contacted for comment last week, a researcher with the university said they could not speak to the media because the project involved military applications.
The car-mounted device’s measurements are an order of magnitude more precise than those of previous gravimeters.
The device requires only a couple of minutes to set up and calibrate – previous instruments took hours – and performs well despite noise, vibration and other disturbances.
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