Explosives Detection Breakthrough Via Green Laser

retiarius writes "In keeping with celebrating the USA's National Chemistry Week (aside from watching the hitcount for Tom Lehrer's very chemical music video at CD Baby), I'm duly impressed by an amazingly simple new way to detect explosives at a distance -- just use a store-bought presentation green laser pointer and some dimestore infrared night vision glasses! The (alas, patentable) details are in this week's EE Times."

Comments

False positives & meat

[G4from128k]

A quick read of this article suggests that this will have a false positive problem with meat products. The nitrite (NO2) groups found in explosives that glow IR when exposed to green light are also found in meat products. I'm surprised the researchers did not test this potential source of false postives because other explosives detection technologies that look for nitrogen are also fooled by meat products.

Eat a hot dog or deli sandwich before going through security and you may end up in the dreaded secondary screening line when the bomb detector mistakes bologna for a bomb.

Why alas? US govt can use patents royalty-free.

[redelm]

Explosives detection technology is most likely to be used by elements of the US government, specifically the DHS, TSA and other TLAs. Patents make no difference to the US government -- it has a perpetual, royalty free licence to use any patent it wishes, any way it wishes. Frequently disasterously.

Once debugged (meat), the mfr will probably be able to sell the devices to the govt. If they charge too much, the GSA (procurement) will go out for bids. Local and state bomb squads will have more trouble, but the Federal govt could just give them detectors under some fancy pgm.