Engineering: Nano security

A new nano-electric device could detect hazardous liquids in luggage in moments, which could lead to faster security checks in airports where passengers still face restrictions on carrying liquids.

Researchers at Forschungszentrum Juelich in Germany have improved on airport security checks with the development of a nano-electric device called a Josephson junction. The device accumulates the frequencies of light reflected from the liquid when exposed to monochromatic electromagnetic radiation.

By spanning the low and high frequencies of liquid, the Josephson junction can provide a highly detailed identification of the type of liquid. It uses electromagnetic waves to reflect information about the substance’s internal molecular dynamics, in a technique called Hilbert spectroscopy.

Dr Knut Urban, head of microstructure research at Juelich told the German Press Agency DPA: "As far as we know, no other concept at the moment allows for identification of liquids regardless of container.

“You really need to be able to measure the entire molecular fingerprint and our approach can do this. I believe the technical device that comes out of this will be flexible enough to identify harmful substances that have not yet been invented by the terrorists."

The research is published in the journal Superconductor Science and Technology.

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