Since the introduction of nuclear weapons , we have lived in a world where an all - out warfare could ruin humanity many times over . study have found that just100 or so warheadscould plunge the world into atomic wintertime , which could take up to 1 billion lives . As of 2023 , we have an approximated12,500 nuclear warheads .
But what if there was a path to obtain these artillery and destroy them , from a length , without anyone know what ’s happening ?
That is the futurist scenario paint by a pre - print paper titled , quite dramatically , " devastation of Nuclear Bombs Using Ultra - High Energy Neutrino Beam " .
" Our basic idea is to use an extremely gamy energy neutrino beam which interpenetrate the earth and interacts just a few meters away from a potentially concealed nuclear weapon , " the team explains in their paper , which is yet to be peer - reviewed .
" The appropriate vigour turns out to be about 1,000 TeV. This is the vim where the neutrino think of gratuitous course becomes more or less adequate to the diam of the solid ground . The neutrino shaft produces a hadron shower and the exhibitor hit the plutonium or the uranium in the bomb and causes fission reactions . These reactions will wake up the bomb and either melt it down or ignite the nuclear reactions if the explosives already surround the plutonium . "
The beam would be used to cause a controlled " bust explosion " . At the clip of writing – back in 2003 – the team believed they could cause a contain burst around 3 percent of the arm ’s intensity level , but that would need to be subdue to disarm the dud safely . Too much zip could lead to a full explosion , which is what we are essay to avoid .
While destroying nuclear bombs is a cool theme , we would also need to be able to locate them . The team believes that a neutrino electron beam using less energy in conjunction with detector could be used to detect nuclear bombs , making the trouble a lot easier . The squad proposed that neutrinos could be used to study the internal structure of the Earth , much in the same manner as we useseismic tomographybut without the hassle of await around for earthquakes .
So , what would the downsides to such a tech be ? An obvious one , acknowledged in the theme , is that the arm ’s use would not be limited to atomic weapon system .
" We are certainly cognisant of the fact that this kind of machine can not only target the nuclear bomb , " they write , " but other kinds of weapons of aggregative devastation and also , unfortunately , any variety of living aim include human . "
The squad believed that the radiation dosage would be low enough that it would not be hard-nosed to target mass , or a group of the great unwashed , in this way . Moreover the applied science – still out of our current clutch – would be so toll - prohibitive that it would need multiple country to collaborate in build it .
" We strongly object to the ungrounded worry that this kind of equipment , even its downgraded version could be used by sure irresponsible organization as a arm of aggregative destruction , " the team concluded . " On the reverse , we sincerely yours hope that our marriage offer will motivate and excite the revival of the old idea of ' World Government ' which has so far been dispose as unrealistic . "
The paper is bring out on pre - print serverarXiv .
