Heimann Systems of Wiesbaden, Germany, wants to speed up airport luggage
scanners by splitting the job of screening for explosives into two easy stages
(GB 2359720). An X-ray system detects any solid object and records its position
in the bag. Then an X-ray diffraction system is aimed at each logged position.
This measures the pattern of radiation scattered by the crystalline structure of
any chemicals, and compares it with those of explosives. So time isn’t wasted
screening every part of every bag.
Technology
Find that bomb
By Barry Fox
15 December 2001
