Slashdot Mirror
Quantum Holography
Buzz Skyline writes "Physicists succeed where psychics fail. Researchers from Boston University propose a quantum holography system that can construct 3d images of objects sealed in closed containers. Could it lead to quantum luggage scanners at the airport?"
Great! Now we'll be able to tell Schroedinger once and for all whether his stupid cat is dead or not.
Nathan
Would spare them from the dreaded Dirty Laundry DoS attack frequently perpetrated at Customs. =)
- billn
We could always pass a law mandating that all bombs being carried on by terrorists be enclosed in this type of sphere.
And if that didn't work, we could always require that the device be clearly labeled "BOMB". I think a $300 fine should be sufficient penalty for this, don't you? At least it would be if we were talking about corporate violators...
That is all.
Perhaps somone will be able to make a pair of X-RAY specs that actually work! :)
...but I get to check two boxes in Slashdot Buzzword Bingo. Just a few more to go....
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
"Look! I think its a bomb!"
"Sure does look like one..seize her!"
Five minutes later.
"There was no bomb in here..WTF?"
"It would have been in there if we hadn't looked!"
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
I don't believe so. I personally feel the problem with airport security is not the type of equipment used, but the incompetence of some of the security people employed there. You've heard the security breach stories on the news.
"What is that, a hairdryer with a scope on it ?... That looks okay, keep it moving". "Some sort of bowling ball candle ? That's fine, just... we don't want to hold up the line, don't hold up the line"
Jerry Seinfeld on Airport Security
No more exploratory surgery. Quickly detect cancer growths.
Yeah, I can see it now:
"After putting you in this big sphere and exposing you to massive amounts of electromagnetic radiation, we've determined that you do indeed have skin cancer."
There is no need to label it "BOMB" if you just require all bombs use the classic bomb shape: bowling ball sized black spheres with a large fuse on top. A stick or bundle of TNT should be OK too, assuming it is bright red and also uses a lit fuse.
...a new, more efficient porn acquiring method for geeks - because most clothes are not entirely opaque and some light gets to the skin, can this be used to acquire 3D nude holograms of fascinating females that pass by?
Everyone who makes generalizations should be shot.
OK, So we put a suitcase into one of these things at an airport, et VIOLA!...
:-)
... a hologram of a suitcase! Methinks this one will need work before it replaces the good ol' Airport Xray machine.
Of course quantum entanglement is also how "they" propose to achieve the matter-transporter, so forget looking inside the luggage, we can just send it on ahead
Enjoy Y2K? Roll-on Year 2037!
If the cat meows, would that break the uncertainty principle?
Does it make you happy you're so strange?
Good lhord, did anyone actual read the damn article? Here's a clue: No.
The technology described will not scan your luggage, nor will it make body cavity searches obsolete, unless you have a spherical, photosensitive rectum.
Not a cure for cancer, or a replacement for a cat scan or MRI.
What the technology excels at is showing you what's inside a specially constructed sphere. This information could also be garnered with a sufficiently large hammer.
A cool physics party trick, and some interesting basic research. That's about it.
What were you expecting?