UNIST improves remote detection of hazardous radioactive substances
This is a schematic of a possible setup for the detection of radioactive material inside a container.
Credit: UNIST
The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in Korea recently reported a method for the remote detection of hazardous radioactive substances. With the help of this newly-developed detection device, the detection of various types of radioactive materials can be done from a distance.
In their study, published in the May issue of Nature
Communications, Professor Eunmi Choi of Natural Science and her team
demonstrated a method with higher sensitivity that uses high-power pulsed
electromagnetic-waves to detect a radioactive source.
Remote detection of radioactive materials is not possible
when the measurement location is far from its source. For example, typical
radiation detectors such as Geiger-Muller counters have technical limitations
in the remote detection of sources.
For instance, they can detect 1 milli Curie (mCi) of
Cobalt-60 (60Co) at a maximum distance of 3.5 metres, but are
inefficient at measuring lower levels of radioactivity or at longer distances.
In the study, Professor Choi and her research team demonstrated
real-time radioactive material detection using a high-power pulsed
millimetre-wave source, specifically the detection of 0.5 ug of cobalt-60 from
120 cm away, the maximum distance allowed by the laboratory setup.
"The detection sensitivity has been increased by 4,800
times, compared to the conventional theoretical sensitivity, enabling the
detection of very small amounts of radiation. Depending on the equipment used,
this method could scale to detect radioactivity at distances of at least tens
of kilometers and possibly as far as 100 km," says Professor Choi.
To read more please visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170609102248.htm
Source: ScienceDaily