A new technique for comparing physical objects – while keeping the composition of the objects secret – has been demonstrated by physicists in the US and Italy. Based on a scheme for cryptography, the method involves comparing how radiation is transmitted through two targets and could be used to verify the presence of nuclear weapons in warheads.
Future agreements on the control of nuclear weapons could require that all nuclear warheads be accounted for, including those in storage. This would rely on inspectors being able to tell a real nuclear warhead apart from a fake one. This is important because it would prevent a country from secretly stashing away some of its declared warheads and replacing them with fakes.
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