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futurity_sci_tech 00928.txt

#Laser pinpoints tiniest traces of explosive Michigan State university rightoriginal Studyposted by Layne Cameron-Michigan State on September 9 2013a bomb-detecting laser that can find micro-traces of explosive chemicals on clothes and luggage could improve security at airport checkpoints researchers say. ince this method uses a single beam and requires no bulky spectrometers it is quite practical and could scan many people and their belongings quicklysays Marcos Dantus chemistry professor at Michigan State university. ot only does it detect the explosive material but it also provides an image of the chemicalâ#exact location even if itâ#merely a minute trace on a zipper. his doesnâ##t mean that security will be armed with handheld lasers in airports. The laser would more likely be in a conveyor belt like the X-ray scanners already used for airport security. The low energy laser is safe to use on luggage as well as passengers Dantus says. For decades scientists have been working to develop lasers that are powerful enough for detection but safe enough to use on people. Dantusâ##initial spark came from a collaboration with Harvard university that developed a laser that could be used to detect cancer but has the beam output of a simple presentation pointer. hile working on biomedical imaging I began exploring additional applicationsdantus says. e soon learned how effective it was for detecting traces of hazardous substances from distances up to 10 meters away. s described in the journal Applied Physics Letters the bomb-detecting laser works as a single beam but uses two pulses. The first resonates with certain chemical frequencies found in explosives. The second a shadow pulse serves as a reference. A discrepancy between the two pulses indicates the presence of explosive materials. he laser is affected not by the color or surface of clothes or luggagedantus says. he resonant pulse and the shadow pulse are always in balance unless something is detected. ur method has Raman chemical specificity excellent sensitivity and robust performance on virtually all surfaces. n aerospace company has expressed already interest in furthering thes technology. With additional funding a standalone prototype could be created in about one year he says. Funding for the research was provided by the Department of Homeland security Science and Technology Directorate. Biophotonic Solutions is a high-tech company Dantus launched in 2003 to commercialize technology invented by his research group. Source: Michigan State Universityyou are free to share this article under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noderivs 3. 0 Unported license A

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