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What's in that tupperware tub? (Research & Developments).(sensors)(Brief Article)

Sensors Magazine, July, 2003 by Henkel, Stephanie vL

Content provided in partnership with HighBeam Research

Researchers at NIST and Sparta Inc. (Rosslyn, VA) are investigating a way to detect bulk or airborne substances inside sealed nonmetallic containers. Their device works by aiming an FIR (terahertz) light source at a sample and then analyzing the absorbed spectra while compensating for the light absorbed by the container. The pattern of spectra absorbed by a material is a function of its atomic vibration and its crystalline structure.

The equipment, which operates at room temperature, can identify compounds containing molecules with as few as three atoms. The researchers have compiled a database of spectral characteristics for more than 100 substances and an automated software tool for rapid analysis.

Testing has demonstrated that the instrument can...

 

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