Innovations & technology

Study improves remote detection of hazardous radioactive substances

A recent study, affiliated with UNIST has introduced a method for the remote detection of hazardous radioactive substances. With the help of this newly-developed detection device, the detection of various types of radioactive materials can be done from a remote distance.

In their study, published in the May issue of the journal, Nature Communications, Professor Eunmi Choi of Natural Science and her team demonstrated a method with higher sensitivity that uses high-power pulsed electromagnetic-waves to detect a radioactive source.

A substance is said to be radioactive if it contains atoms with unstable nuclei and gives out nuclear radiation in the form of alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. Uranium-235 (U-235) is an isotope of uranium widely used for nuclear power generation and, like all other radioactive isotopes used in medicine, it has been also employed for diagnosis and treatment of diseased organs and tumors. They are essential to humankind, but can have fatal consequences if it is accidentally leaked or used as a weapon.