There is a new handheld that you may start seeing at most airports. It can pick up major explosives used by terrorists, such as triacetone, triperoxide, or TATP. It reacts to minimal amounts of TATP. It reacts to below 2 parts per billion, said Kenneth Suslick, a chemist at the University of Illinois. He and his team are working very hard to convert this prototype into a commercially available device. This chemical is favored by terrorists because it s easy to make, but at the same time difficult to detect, until of course chemists came up with this new gadget to keep all airports safe. It can be waved over suitcases or placed inside walk-through chemical detectors at airports.
This is an example of discovery science because they had a lot of evidence and narrowed it down to the idea of the handheld. This finding will keep humans safe at airports and other major terrorist targets.
Rachel Ehrenberg, Sensor picks up elusive explosive, Science News, December 4, 2010, pg.8
No comments:
Post a Comment