Constructing a Nuclear Bomb Detector on a Budget
WiredThere are several ways to avert a nuclear terrorist attack. That company, Silverside Detectors, is building a detector for neutrons---the best way to sniff out a nuke. Because of the spike in demand for helium-3 detectors after 9/11, "the world basically bottomed out its main neutron detection material," says Sarah Haig, the co-founder of Silverside Detectors. Using lithium-6 to detect neutrons isn't a new idea---the basic detector concept was developed in the early 1980s---but it's still an idea that anybody has yet to develop at scale. "The question when you move from research to practical applications is whether anyone can afford to buy it," says Herschel Workman, whose company ParkTec, Ltd. worked for years on developing lithium-6 detectors for the Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security.
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