The Royal Navy has successfully conducted the first test of their quantum navigation system, which enables a ship to know its precise position anywhere in the world without GPS. Submarines are not able to make use of GPS when submerged, so this system could one day be built into underwater vessels.
This first test houses the quantum navigation system in a shipping container, strapped to the experimental ship. Inside the container, you’ll find a quantum acceerometer, which is basically a compressed steel sphere that holds and cools around 1-billion atoms of rubidium-87. Laser light is used to trap the atoms at which point they behave less like particles and more like a wave. Measuring this behavior makes it possible to accurately determine the influence of gravity on the system, thus allowing them to measure the speed and direction of its movement.
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By encoding these acceleration and rotation signals in the internal states of atoms, it will protect them from the real world. This enables us to run them for much, much longer, which in the future should enable you to navigate for a much longer time without having to fix your reference using some other kinds of technology,” said Dr Joe Cotter, Co-Developer of the Project from Imperial College.
