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Scientists from the Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICP RAS) and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) have demonstrated that sensors based on binary metal oxide nanocomposites are sensitive enough to identify terrorist threats and detect environmental pollutants. The results of their study have been published in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.
Due to rapid industrial growth and the degradation of the environment, there is a growing need for the development of highly effective and selective sensors for pollutant detection. In addition, gas sensors could also be used to monitor potential terrorist threats.
"Choosing the right sensor composition can make a device at least 10 times more effective and enable an exceptionally fast response, which is crucial for preventing terrorist attacks," says Prof. Leonid Trakhtenberg of the Department of Molecular and Chemical Physics at MIPT, who is the leader of the research team and the head of the Laboratory of Functional Nanocomposites at ICP RAS.
According to the research findings, the most promising detection systems are binary metal oxide sensors, in which one component provides a high density of conductive electrons and another is a strong catalyst.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 04 2016, @04:33PM
This is the most vague summary I've read in a while. What?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 04 2016, @04:48PM
I would have to agree with you there. Lots of thin air in TFA... but it did include the word 'nano'.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday November 04 2016, @06:33PM
And the words "terrorist" and "threat", because Publicity and Funding.
Last time I checked, most terrorists carried the same kind of weapons as 2nd-amendment fans, or just knives. Those with bombs have not been shown to typically loiter around for long enough to trip relevant alarms.
On top of which many cities and sensitive areas are so full of airborne "dangerous stuff" (cars exhaust, but also solvents, vaping smoke, fertilizers and cleaning products), I will have to be shown that a non-lab experiment can reliably weed out false positives...
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday November 04 2016, @08:00PM
gas sensors could also be used to monitor potential terrorist threats.
Seems to me the last terrorist gas attack was in Japan, and people started falling down before any sensors had time to go off.
You would literally have to have these things everywhere to provide useful warning.
And the useful false alarms would be an immense annoyance.
Older sensors frequently alarmed anytime Janitors [nytimes.com] came near them. Apparently Mr. Clean is scary scary shit.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Friday November 04 2016, @05:01PM
It says 'metal oxide', so I guess the terrorists drive rusty cars.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:25AM
Basically, these sensors will detect any cell phone, and turn it on remotely if it is turned off. Because the NSA heard a terrorist once touched a cell phone, so now they decided to track every single one in the hopes of narrowing down which people are possibly a terrorists.
Now they have two lists:
-likely terrorists with a cell phone (containing everyone with a cell phone)
-likely terrorists with a cell phone that has a dead battery (special case, as they can't directly track these people remotely, but the people are technologically aware, so they have to dispatch a team of agents to physically follow these people)
-likely terrorists without a cell phone (containing everyone without a cell phone)