Abstract:
With a detonator, you put a specified amount of energy in, and it either goes or does not. The probability of 'go' as a function of voltage is termed the 'sensitivity function'. The tails of the sensitivity function are crucial for safety (left-hand) and reliability (right-hand). We have been reappraising the industry's approach to estimating the sensitivity function, including how to put more physics into the statistical model, how to quantify uncertainty, especially in the tails, and how to design experiments more efficiently. This will be an nontechnical talk, and I regret that Health and Safety regulations do not allow me to actually blow stuff up in the lecture theatre.

Prof Jonathan Rougier
AWE Aldermaston, and
Honorary Professor, School of Mathematics, University of Bristol.

Local Event Organiser: Georgios Karagiannis
Local Group Secretary: Louis Aslett