not all n14 is equal. NQR frequencies and pulse patterns are specific the the quadrupolar crystaline structure that the nitrogen is bound in. Thus ALL n14 containing substances discovered so far that exibite NQR signals have distinct "fingerprints'. N14 in shoe leather is a non-issue. That said, NQR does have many limitations that make it best for a complimentary technology and not a magic bullet.
I agree that x-rays of the energy and intesity used in aviation security application will have no adverse effect on laptops, but neither will metal detectors. The "giant magnets" you speak of exist only in your imagination. Metal detectors us low power rf continuous or pulsed waves. They pose no danger to people unless they have a very poorly designed implantable medical device (pacemaker, neural stimulator, insulin pump, etc). All of these devices designed in the past 15 years are unaffected.
There is nothing new about using radio waves for explosives detection. The navel research labs and russians have been working on NQR explosives detection for 40 years. Many other groups worldwide are also working on the technology. Two companies have products out and in airports, GE and QR Sciences, although currently the number of units deployed is quit low.
The somewhat novel thing in the article is the use of squids. This is not entirely novel because the russian, GE and others have looked at this over the past 10 years. It is generally accepted that squids generally do not add much improvement to the signal to noise ration, SNR, in the lab, and add NOTHING to fieldable configurations of NQR systems. This is because the major noise sources are not the amplifier itself, but rather the intrinsic antenna noise, RFI (radio frequency interference), and induced ringing in the target item (shoes, baggage content, etc). Additionally the squids add significant cost, complexity, and reliablility issues.
What this japanese group has done is all well and fine for research in a highly controlled laboratory environment, but it is completely unreasonable to tout this as useful in real life applications, much less presenting it as a breakthru.
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not all n14 is equal. NQR frequencies and pulse patterns are specific the the quadrupolar crystaline structure that the nitrogen is bound in. Thus ALL n14 containing substances discovered so far that exibite NQR signals have distinct "fingerprints'. N14 in shoe leather is a non-issue. That said, NQR does have many limitations that make it best for a complimentary technology and not a magic bullet.
I agree that x-rays of the energy and intesity used in aviation security application will have no adverse effect on laptops, but neither will metal detectors. The "giant magnets" you speak of exist only in your imagination. Metal detectors us low power rf continuous or pulsed waves. They pose no danger to people unless they have a very poorly designed implantable medical device (pacemaker, neural stimulator, insulin pump, etc). All of these devices designed in the past 15 years are unaffected.
There is nothing new about using radio waves for explosives detection. The navel research labs and russians have been working on NQR explosives detection for 40 years. Many other groups worldwide are also working on the technology. Two companies have products out and in airports, GE and QR Sciences, although currently the number of units deployed is quit low. The somewhat novel thing in the article is the use of squids. This is not entirely novel because the russian, GE and others have looked at this over the past 10 years. It is generally accepted that squids generally do not add much improvement to the signal to noise ration, SNR, in the lab, and add NOTHING to fieldable configurations of NQR systems. This is because the major noise sources are not the amplifier itself, but rather the intrinsic antenna noise, RFI (radio frequency interference), and induced ringing in the target item (shoes, baggage content, etc). Additionally the squids add significant cost, complexity, and reliablility issues. What this japanese group has done is all well and fine for research in a highly controlled laboratory environment, but it is completely unreasonable to tout this as useful in real life applications, much less presenting it as a breakthru.