Universal Detector
4 October 2008, 22:22
Categories: tools
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Scientists at the University of California San Diego have designed a portable Universal Detector that others have compared to the fictional Star Trek Tricorder. Basically, one will be able to point the device at other things and find out what they’re made of; it could detect everything from explosives to bacteria.
The idea uses a thin layer of metal drilled with nanoscale holes, laid onto the surface being tested. When the perforated plate is zapped with laser light, the surface plasmons that form emit light with a frequency related to the materials touching the plate. A sensitive light detector is needed to measure the frequency of light given off.
Posted by: The Editors
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