Soon, remote-sensing explosive detectors to replace full-body scanners at airports

Standing in a full-body scanner at an airport adds time and stress to a journey, but now researchers have found a more precise and direct method for using that "terahertz" (THz) technology to detect explosives from greater distances.

The advance could ultimately lead to detectors that survey a wider area of an airport without the need for full-body scanners.

R. Kosloff and colleagues explain that using THz spectroscopy by itself is challenging for sensing far-away explosives.

This technology uses beams of electromagnetic radiation that lie between microwaves, like those used in kitchen ovens, and the infrared rays used in TV remote controls.

The researchers developed a computational tool and used it to successfully identify two explosives, RDX and TATP, with THz data directly.

The study was published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.