Bringing bombs to light

Richard B. Miles, Arthur Dogariu, James B. Michael

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

With a mighty zap, a laser can detect fumes from hidden explosives. Today we rely on dogs to sniff out hidden explosives. The problem is, you can't debrief a dog, so you can't identify the kind of explosive or even be sure that the animal is smelling explosives rather than packaging material. And who wants to risk the lives of dogs and their handlers? If you had an instrument that could safely identify any explosive at a distancewith the doglike power to detect molecules at concentrations of just one part in billionsyou could get around these difficulties.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number6139233
Pages (from-to)38-43
Number of pages6
JournalIEEE Spectrum
Volume49
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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