When HN users recommended it
1 HN user recommended this between 2015 and 2016, in 2 comments.
20072026
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
1 HN user recommended this between 2015 and 2016, in 2 comments.
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
Carry one of these radiation detectors.[1] It will emit loud beeps if hit by an X-ray beam. This is a scanned spot beam system, so the exposure is short but easily measurable.
AS&E offers the system (which is rather large) in two models of Mercedes Sprinter vans and a Ford 550 for off-road use. This thing has been around for almost a decade; they recently came out with a new van, but it's apparently the same backscatter hardware.
It's a very short range technology. For cargo container or vehicle inspection, they need separate scanning units for both sides and the top. Even for scanning people, both sides have to be scanned separately. It's not suitable for looking into houses.
But if you think something is a bomb, it's a good way to get a quick look. Because it can identify different elements, explosives really stand out.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/NukAlertTM-radiation-detector-keychain...
Checking food with a gamma radiation detector is not too useful. [1][2] Some "preppers" are into this, and get excited if they count for an hour and get 20% higher than usual. They're probably seeing ordinary variation in background radiation, which varies over the course of a day.
A tester called LANFOS has been developed in Japan, to deal with possibly-contaminated food from Fukishima. It's a round pot-like device with shielding and plastic scintillation detectors into which a sample can be inserted. This has been tested against other methods and the results agree with standard laboratory tests.[3] That's a practical solution in an area where you really do have to test.
If you're worried about suddenly encountering a big gamma emitter or X-ray beam, get one of these.[4]
[1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-04-12/geiger-cou... [2] https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk3/1979/7907/790720.PDF [3] http://www.foodqualitynews.com/R-D/Radioactive-compounds-det... [4] https://www.amazon.com/NukAlertTM-radiation-detector-keychai...