以中子信号核查轨道核武器的物理设想
Arms-control agreements are only as durable as the confidence that violations can be discovered. In orbit, however, inspectors cannot simply visit every satellite or look inside a sealed payload.
A recent proposal turns the space environment into part of the detector. High-energy protons in the inner Van Allen belts can strike heavy material and generate secondary neutrons. The resulting signature might reveal whether a satellite carries a thermonuclear device.
Inspired by a public Nature title/summary · Rewritten by Vocabsavvy · Vocabsavvy Original (public-snippet inspired)