Gotcha: Detecting Nuclear Weapons.(Brief Article)

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a device that can detect nuclear detonations by analyzing the atmosphere for traces of radioactive material. ARSA, the Automated Radioxenon Sampler/Analyzer analyzes air samples for radioactive xenon, or radioxenon, that seeps from underground nuclear explosions, the most common testing method today but the most difficult to detect.

ARSA has a detection sensitivity 10 to 100 times more sensitive than other detection systems. In addition, it is the only completely automated radioactive ...

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