Slashdot Mirror
Old Methods Used to Detect Liquid Explosives
Bain writes "According to Wired News, the UK fear of terrorists using liquid explosives could be dramatically reduced by the use of some very old tech. Recent events have seen passengers forced to pack only the barest of essentials into clear plastic bags and the restriction on all liquids force even mothers with young children to have to test bottled milk to prove that it isn't a dangerous liquid." From the article: "For a machine to detect explosives in liquid or solid form, it bombards an object with energy -- such as radio waves or neutrons -- and in seconds measures the reaction, a response that differs depending on the material's chemical properties. Software in the machine is programmed to alert screeners if it detects chemical signatures known to match those of dangerous materials. A key question, though, is whether this kind of detection system can realistically block terrorists from bringing seemingly innocuous liquids past security and combining them later to deadly effect."
Depending on the length of the flight, this might include certain medications, contact lens solution, toothpaste and mouthwash. Having made the trip from JFK to Narita International (13 hours), I can testify that those things are necessary, thank you very much.
On a related note, some persons have opined that carry-on luggage and personal electronics shuold be eliminated entirely from the cabin. This, I believe, is not a realistic solution, not only due to above-implied personal care issues, but the extreme non-likelihood of travelers accepting long flights without access to their own diversions. And then we have the items we carry because their value renders keeping them on/close to our persons wise, such as laptops. While I do not have on hand statistics for luggage theft for the past several years, I doubt many people would entrust such devices to checked luggage, even before locking said luggage was discouraged - seriously, did the people who tought that up think the thieves and smugglers retired? To exemplify the latter: picture a setup where person A on the inside inserts contraband into a bag after it's been checked, then alerts person B at destination that they might remove said contraband before bag hits customs. If done correctly, the bag's owner will be totally unaware that something has hitched a ride.
Also, for many trips, carry-on luggage might well be quite enough to hold the necessities, eliminating the need for the traveler to worry about baggage claim.
Note: binary agents are nothing new; many chemical weapons are delivered in such a form, as exemplified in Batman...
And it will remain true that while technical solutions are nice, the cornerstone of the counterterror effort will always be people. You know, the folks doing the police work, following the leads, and so on.
- White Knight of the Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
Small bottle of bleach, small bottle of ammonia. Won't pass a "sniff" test, but amounts in bottles small enough to pass unnoticed under clothes can still cause extensive problems especially in a closed, delicate system. Like an airplane in flight. I also doubt that the nitrate sniffers would be set sensitive enough to alert on a closed bottle of ammonia. Any excees outside should evaporate.
/ OMG, teh BBC is terrorist!!!11oneoneeleven