[EvilOverlord]

Cool stuff

[Michael.SF.]

Experience in photoluminescent spectroscopy has helped university researchers bring to light a method by which

Pun intended, I assume?

[St.Mark]

Why isn't this deployed in Iraq right now....?

[Fatuncle]

My God, do you know how many lives and injuries can be saved with this simple little trick??!!??

We need them all over Iraq now.

[Ditter]

Look at this.

[Drammach]

Congress should over-ride normal patent procedures, give these people limited commercial rights, and assert that national security allows government use immediately..

Then get these units on the next plane to Iraq, Afghan, and U.S. Airport terminals, as well as high security facilities throughout the nation.. ( Nuclear reactors, arms depots, railroad terminals, major business districts, border crossings, etc.. )

[rawhide]

"It turns out that all explosives use groups of nitrogen molecules bonded to two oxygen molecules, which makes them very reactive — they can't help but seep out into the air around anything concealing them. When our green laser hits these molecules they photoluminesce at the 705-nm wavelength. Anything else that radiates at that frequency also radiates at nearby frequencies. Only explosives emit in this very narrow band," said Hummel.
"As a consequence, Hummel's detector could theoretically sense a single molecule from an explosive's "aroma" without fear of false positives, by using two sensors — one for explosives and one to prevent false positives. The primary sensor has a filter so it only senses exactly 705-nm wavelengths, thus "arming" the alarm. But the alarm is only set off if a second, "fail-safe" sensor verifies that there is no equally strong radiation at wavelengths adjacent to 705 nm, thus preventing false positives, according to Hummel."

I do not agree this will be fail safe. One way I see to outwit this test would be to have in addition to the explosives material present, another item which would give off radiation at the 705-nm wavelength and also at the additional nearby frequencies. This would trip off the alarm on the second 'failsafe' sensor, thereby indicating this item giving off radiation is not confined to just explosives frequency, when in fact explosives along with this second item are both giving off radiation, thereby giving the tester the false assumption that no explosives are present.

[Southack]

"The researchers have proven that the effect works with TNT, nitroglycerin and the plastic explosives trinitrofenil-Nmetilnitramina (Tetryl), hexahydro-trinitro-triazine (RDX), octahydro-tetranitrotetrazocine (HMX) and pentaerythrol tetranitrate (PETN)."

RDX is what the Soviets stole from us to use in their first nuclear weapons. Their other conventional explosives had a nasty habit of pre-detonating due to the exposure to radiation.

[lepton]

Well, they described how to defeat it...that's always useful. /sarcasm

[BobS]

"It turns out that all explosives use groups of nitrogen molecules bonded to two oxygen molecules..."

How about chlorates? Potassium perchlorate and chlorate are also explosive.

[jwalsh07]

Great, now thats what I'm talking about.

[John O]

bump for later reading

[VadeRetro]

Israel needs this ASAP for the checkpoints where the human bombs cross. We need it in Iraq to sweep for those roadside improvised booby traps.