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More About this Research: Detecting Improvised Explosive Devices
Subscription may be required for full text: Chen, Y., E.K. Garcia, M.R. Gupta, A. Rahimi, and L. Cazzanti, "Similarity-based classification: Concepts and algorithms," J. Machine Learn. Res., 10, 747-776, 2009. Arbab, H.M., A. Chen, E.I. Thorsos, D.P. Winebrenner, and L.M. Zurk, "Effect of surface scattering on terahertz time domain spectroscopy of chemicals," Proc. SPIE, Terahertz Technol. Appl., 68930C1-68930C8, 2008. Zurk, L.M., G. Sundberg, S. Schecklman, Z. Zhou, A. Chen, and E.I. Thorsos, "Scattering effects in terahertz reflection spectroscopy," Proc. SPIE, 6949, 694907-1–694907-8, 2008. Zhou, Z., A. Chen, J. Zhang, L.M. Zurk, B. Orlowski, E. Thorsos, D. Winebrenner, and L.R. Dalton, "Impacts of terahertz scattering on the reflection spectrum for explosive detection," Proc. SPIE, 6772, 67720T-1–67720T-7, 2007. Zurk, L.M., B. Orlowski, D.P. Winebrenner, E.I. Thorsos, M. Leahy-Hoppa, and M.R. Hayden, "Terahertz scattering from granular material," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B. Opt. Phys., 24, 2238-2243, 2007. |
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In Afghanistan and Iraq, most U.S. casualties are caused by IEDs: improvised explosive devices. In Seattle, thousands of miles from the combat zones, scientists are in the fight to detect IEDs and save lives. Scientist Bill Asher believes lasers can detect the presence of hidden explosives, in fact, see invisible threats. The idea is a convoy or patrol vehicle going down the road at 60 miles per hour — if you’re shining this laser out in front of them, you scan surfaces to see if you can find explosives contamination. The threat of hidden explosives aboard airplanes is being addressed by work that centers on extremely high-frequency electromagnetic waves and on ultrathin wires and films reacting to the presence of traces of explosive chemicals, extremely small traces — one molecule in a trillion molecules.
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