News Section | Physics
Soon, a ‘reliable’ senor to detect explosive vapours
Researchers in Scotland have designed a new device that could more reliably sense explosives, helping workers to identify and deactivate unexploded mines.
The prototype sensor features a thin film of polymer whose many electrons jump into higher energy levels when exposed to light.
If left alone, the electrons would eventually fall back down, re-emitting light.
When the ”excited” polymer is exposed to the electron-deficient molecules that are common to many explosives, however, the molecules steal some of the polymer”s electrons, and so quench the light emission.
Other devices have used the change in a fluorescent polymer”s light-emitting power to detect explosive vapours, but the Scottish team”s prototype, is the first to use a compact silicon-based micro-system to measure the change in the length of time an electron stays in the ”excited” higher energy state.
This measurement is less affected by environmental factors, such as stray light, which should make the device more reliable.
The study has been published in the AIP”s new journal AIP Advances.