Fast, Accurate Detection of Explosives

It doesn't come easy writes "Fast, highly reliable detection of residues that could indicate the presence of explosives and other hazardous materials inside luggage is now possible with technology under development at Purdue University. Recent improvements to a previously developed prototype have proven successful at detecting at the picogram (trillionths of a gram) level in lab tests, about 1,000 times less material than previously required. From the article: 'In the amount of time it requires to take a breath, this technology can sniff the surface of a piece of luggage and determine whether a hazardous substance is likely to be inside, based on residual chemicals brushed from the hand of someone loading the suitcase.'"

Comments

Re:Oh great...

[fishbowl]

>I thought carrying an unloaded pistol in your checked baggage was legal anyway.

It depends on your destination, as always.

You cannot fly into Massachussetts or DC, for instance. But I routinely take firearms on trips from Arizona to Oregon. There's a little drill at the baggage check, where you have to say certain words verbatim; the weapon has to be unloaded in a locked container, and any ammo has to be in the packaging as it came from the factory and also locked.

There's always a little stressful situation at the counter where you have to take the gun out of the box, show them it's unloaded (open the revolver, rack the slide, etc.). Invariably, there's someone in line behind me that freaks out on this.

Then you have to carry your bag to a special X-Ray line, and tell the X-Ray guy what's in there. They make sure you have the only key.

At the destination, nobody ever seems to care, or know, what's in the suitcase, and rifle cases are always just piled with the golf bags.

But there's nothing to it. Get this -- in AZ, it's perfectly legal to wear a pistol openly in a holster on your hip, in the airport, all the way to the first checkpoint (but absolutely not past it!).