ABOUT
Why do we do it?

The current problem is that there are over 190,000 railway earthworks throughout the UK and an approximate buried asset inventory exceeding 6,000 km; less than half of these assets are currently known. This can cause serious problems if a buried asset is blocked, broken, or the location is completely unknown. The image to the right shows one of the problems that can occur due to a broken and blocked asset. This can cause significant delays for the day-to-day running of the railway if remediation needs to happen, which inevitably increases the cost of these works - costs that will be passed onto the tax payer. What we aim to do is to utilise traditional geophysical instrumentation and determine the capability and limitations of the QT gravity sensors to detect these buried assets more effectively and efficiently. 
Network Rail

Quantum Technology Gravity Sensors

Quantum theory is the science of the very small; it explains the behaviour of matter and its interactions with energy on the scale of atoms and sub-atomic particles. Harnessing the properties that are present at this level, we can achieve things that traditional technologies cannot. 

The Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Metrology at the University of Birmingham is developing smaller, cheaper, more accurate and energy efficient components for a new range of previously impossible devices and systems. In the future, this technology will be able to do things like improve the management of infrastructure below ground, by identifying assets below ground and target areas that may need remediation; which is, fundamentally, what the QT-PRI project is all about. The gravity sensors have the potential to improve seeing what is underground without having to cause any delays or disruptions on the rail network throughout the UK.

How do these Quantum Technology gravity sensors work?

It is possible to harness quantum technology interferometry to detect gravity. An atom interferometer uses lasers to trap atoms in a tiny cloud. The laser then releases the cloud of atoms, which causes the cloud of atoms to fall. The cloud of atoms is then controlled by the precisely-timed continuous pulsing laser; this makes the atoms behave as waves, generate patterns, and interfere with one another. The patterns that this interference creates depends on the gravity the atoms is experiencing at the time, which can enable very precise gravitational sensing. These instruments have the potential to be three-times more accurate than is currently achievable (Tuckwell & Metje, 2017). A basic diagram (right) shows how an atom interferometer works (Krieger, 2006). 
Basic Atom Interferometer
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