Bomb-sniffing crystals may save us from nuclear Armageddon, tea leaves agree

Jul 18th 2011
No Comments
respond
trackback

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Bomb-sniffing crystals may save us from nuclear Armageddon, tea leaves agree

Worried that a nuclear attack might wipe out all of yankee civilization? You need not be, as the scientific community’s crystal ball says crystal balls may save humanity. Last week, the dept of Energy awarded a $900,000 grant to Fisk University and Wake Forest, where researchers were busy exploring the counter-terrorist capabilities of strontium iodide crystals. Once laced with europium, these crystals can do a remarkably good job of picking up on and analyzing radiation, because the team from Fisk and other national laboratories recently discovered. Cost remains essentially the most imposing barrier to deploying the materials at airports or national borders, though soothsaying scientists claim it is only a question of time before they develop the way to produce greater crystalline quantities at an inexpensive price. The single thing Miss Cleo sees is a glistening press release, to your very near, post-break future.

Show full PR text

Crystals detect threats to national security

Wake Forest University and Fisk University awarded $900,000 to detect nuclear threats

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – July 15, 2011 – Using a crystal ball to guard homeland security may appear far-fetched, but researchers at Wake Forest University and Fisk University have partnered to develop crystals that may be used to detect nuclear threats, radioactive material or chemical bombs more accurately and cheaply.

The research is made possible by a $900,000 grant from the Office of Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development of the National Nuclear Security Administration, in the U.S. Department of Energy.

The grant will support both universities’ continued research within the area of radiation detection, which ultimately may lead to improved detector devices for screening cargo containers at ports, airports and border crossings. It will detect trace amounts of radioactive or chemical material – akin to a CT scan or PET scan detecting a tumor within the human body – and result in better medical diagnostics.

“This grant is an acknowledgement of Fisk and Wake Forest’s excellence and leadership inside the field of radiation detection research,” said Fisk University Professor of Physics and Vice Provost Arnold Burger.

Researchers at Fisk and in national laboratories previously discovered that strontium iodide crystals doped with europium may be able to detect and analyze radiation better than most other detection materials. Wake Forest researchers recently demonstrated the unexpectedly crucial role of specific parameters – electron and hole mobilities – had to predict the suitable energy resolution of a given detector crystal.

Currently, expense is an argument a result of large quantities of the crystalline material ultimately needed for widely deployed screening devices. However, strontium iodide already performs significantly better than the most cost effective detectors currently used, and the scientists are optimistic that with the precise calculations and adjustments, crystals of the needed quality and size may be grown and produced affordably.
“Unexpected radiation situations are a fact of our modern world,” said Dr. Richard Williams, Professor of Physics at Wake Forest. “By improving radiation detection and diagnostics, our research will benefit medical advancement in addition to international security.”

Source