Terahertz Imaging:Another Way to See Through Walls

311Stylee writes: "Wow. I've never even heard of this before, but it looks genuine with a writeup on MSNBC and Space.com . Existing technology is used to measure sea temperatures through clouds via satellite, but newer cameras could be used in a huge array of applications because of their ability to see through walls, clothing, smoke and clouds. Google gets 546 hits on T-rays, inlcuding one from AT+T Bell Labs."

Comments

its 7 years old?

[vikool]

I wonder if no one noticed the little line on top that says, may 1995. If this technology is that old, how come it isnt on the market yet?
*sig*

Snow Crash!

[robj]

How quickly we forget. Snow Crash had LOTS of plot elements that were all about millimeter-wave radar. It's how the robo-dog saw the world, for heaven's sake!

"never heard of this before" -- sheesh... kids these days :-)

An application of astronomy technology

[dpp]

Telescopes like the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) have been using these THz waves to do astronomical research for about 15 years.

THz waves are in the millimeter/submillimeter regime of the electromagnetic spectrum, placing them between the far-infrared and the radio.

Just like we use infrared light to look at things which are at roughly room temperature, we use submillimeter light - with wavelengths about 10 times longer - to look at things which are about ten times cooler, down to a few tens of Kelvin above absolute zero.

This includes solar system bodies, comets, and clouds of interstellar gas and dust - the birthplaces of new stars. Just like in the articles, we can use submillimeter waves to see through things that entirely block visible (optical) light.