New radiation detector said Security boost

Scientists at Georgia Tech say they are working on technology that can bolster U.S. security by effectively detecting smuggled radioactive materials. Terrorists attacks involving nuclear devices or materials are a concern, they said, so enhanced detection capabilities would be welcome at ports, border crossings, airports and elsewhere. "U.S. security personnel have to be on guard against two types of nuclear attack -- true nuclear bombs, and devices that seek to harm people by dispersing radioactive material," principle project investigator Bernd Kahn said in a Georgia Tech release Tuesday. "Both of these threats can be successfully detected by the right technology." The researchers, using novel materials and nanotechnology techniques to produce improved radiation detection, have developed a device dubbed a Nano-photonic Composite Scintillation Detector. When gamma rays or particles strike a scintillation detector, they create light flashes that are converted to electrical pulses to help identify the radiation. The prototype Georgia Tech device combines rare earth elements and other materials at the nanoscale for improved sensitivity, accuracy and robustness, researchers said.