Testing the cosmos

Scientists at the Didcot-based

neutron centre have developed instrumentation that enables them to test the effect of cosmic radiation on aircraft electronic systems.

Using a particle accelerator, the scientists can replicate the effect of neutrons on an aircraft’s equipment and simulate the effect of thousands of hours of flying time in just a few minutes.

‘If you were to spend 40,000 hours in the aeroplane, then we can do that in one hour on our instrumentation,’ said Dr Chris Frost, project leader at the ISIS neutron source.

When galactic and sun particles, known as protons, strike the top of the atmosphere, they create huge showers of particles that become greater in number as they fall through the atmosphere. The particles that get to aircraft altitudes (between 30,000ft to 35,000ft) and below are known as neutrons, and these highly penetrating particles can cause a range of damage to an aeroplane’s microelectronic devices.