Using lasers to detect radiation

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that professor Lewis Johnson and his team at Florida A&M University are working on a laser system to produce plasma gases and enable radioactive isotopes to be detected more quickly and at longer distances.

In the event of an underground nuclear blast, it can be days, weeks or months before nuclear particles leak into the air and are carried by wind to somewhere they can be measured, he said. Yet soldiers seeking a dirty bomb someday might carry a portable laser in a Humvee.

The FAMU research is only into its second year of a $5.5-6 million grant but hopes that some day the technology could be used by people on the ground to saves lives.

At the moment it can take days or weeks to detect radiation leaking from the ground after a nuclear test and their hope is that using lasers, detection can happen much more quickly.

On the other hand, I hope Mr. Akpovo doesn't normally stick his fingers into the laser like he's doing above since any laser capable of creating plasma will take those digits off.