New instrument can detect explosives up to range of 100 meters

Scientists have developed a new explosives detector with incredible sensitivity and a range of up to 100 meters that could save lives and thwart the efforts of terrorists. The detector, developed by a team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is based on photo-induced acoustic spectroscopy (PIAS).

Using PIAS, the military and law enforcement agencies will have an instrument that is one-tenth the size of competing products. At five pounds, it is one-fifth the weight and is about one-fifth the cost of the competition. It works by illuminating the suspected explosive with an eye-safe laser and allowing the scattered light to be detected by a quartz crystal tuning fork.

After a series of subsequent steps, the instrument is able to identify a number of explosives without jeopardizing the safety of the operator. Funding for research work into the development of the instrument was provided by the Department of Energy's Office of Nonproliferation Research and Development and the Office of Naval Research.