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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

SciTechDaily [scitechdaily.com]:

Scientists have discovered a new effect in two-dimensional conductive systems that promises improved performance of terahertz detectors.

A recent physics discovery in two-dimensional conductive systems enables a new type of terahertz detector. Terahertz frequencies, which lie between microwave and infrared on the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, could enable faster, safer, and more effective imaging technologies, as well as much higher speed wireless telecommunications. A lack of effective real-world devices has hampered these developments, but this new breakthrough brings us one step closer to these advanced technologies.

...

If the lack of usable devices were solved, terahertz radiation could have many useful applications in security, materials science, communications, and medicine. For example, terahertz waves allow the imaging of cancerous tissue that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. They can be employed in new generations of safe and fast airport scanners that make it possible to distinguish medicines from illegal drugs and explosives, and they could be used to enable even faster wireless communications beyond the state-of-the-art.

Disclaimer: use of terahertz medical scanners may produce the smell of sizzling bacon.

Original Submission