Radiation safety

DARPA Unveils Smart Phone-Sized Radiation Detector to Hunt ‘Dirty’ Bombs

US scientists have manufactured a new generation of low-cost radiation detectors the size of smart phones to detect radiation from "dirty" bombs and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) said in a press release on Tuesday. 

"A DARPA program aimed at preventing attacks involving radiological ‘dirty bombs’ and other nuclear threats has successfully developed… a network of smartphone-sized mobile devices that can detect the tiniest traces of radioactive materials," 

DARPA stated. Combined with larger detectors along major roadways, bridges, other fixed infrastructure and in vehicles, the new networked devices promise significantly enhanced awareness of radiation sources and greater advance warning of possible threats, DARPA explained.