The boffins did so because "Fast neutrons propagate significant distances and interact with materials in ways that are complementary to those of electromagnetic radiation. However, their consideration as a potential means of wireless communication has been limited to date despite this complementarity with the electromagnetic medium of choice for both near-and far-field communication systems."
This immediately brought a smile to my face thinking about the drama surrounding 5G microwave electromagnetic radio (which was all eventually explained as quite safe as it does not penetrate) and how this nuclear radiation would be received.
This is not a viable technology yet at all (or in the near future), and is really a proof of concept. But does show that we should not just assume that extraterrestrial communications may only be electromagnetic, like we currently use. The use of sources of fast neutrons ( > 100 keV) is highly regulated for reasons of security and exposure risk.
See Scientists send data wirelessly using nuclear radiation
#technology #radio #fastneutrons #nuclear
Shall we call it Die-Fi? Or NoTooth? Either would be unkind, as this experiment used little radiation, but much exotic hardware