Nuclear test instrumentation with miniature superconductive cables

The instrumentation requirements for nuclear testing are particularly stringent because of the nature of the transients involved and because of the distance at which instrumentation must be placed. Presently used high-quality transmission lines are not capable of nanosecond performance where cable runs of approximately 1000 meters are concerned. Experimental data from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission´s Nevada Test Site show that 30-ns rise times are attainable for a superconductive cable 7620 meters long. Although the performance of conventional cables (normal conductors) can be improved by low-temperature operation, superconductive cables operated at the same temperature offer bandwidths 100 times greater.