Terahertz Rays Could Be Used to Detect Weapons of Mass Destruction, Expert Says

Terahertz Rays, or T-Rays, could be used to detect hidden weapons of mass destruction, a leading expert in Australia said in a statement released today (see GSN, Nov. 16).

T-Rays were identified a century ago, but it was technological advances in recent years that opened the door for using the low-energy emissions that fall somewhere between infrared and microwaves, according to Agence France-Presse.

“Most molecules vibrate in the terahertz frequency, so if you can detect them with T-Rays, you can get a very good ‘fingerprint,’” Adelaide University professor Derek Abbott said in a statement today, ahead of a conference on the technology this week at the university.

“T-Rays pass through things like food packaging, clothing, plastic and cardboard enabling us to analyze what is inside. This means they can be used to detect and identify weapons of metal or plastic, illicit drugs or biological hazards like anthrax, even if they were hermetically sealed,” he added.            

The technology could also be used to monitor food safety or scan mail for biological weapons, Abbott said (Agence France-Presse/al-Jazeera.net, Dec. 14).

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