New sensor to detect multiple explosives in a jiffy

Scientists have developed a new colour-changing sensor that can detect and identify multiple explosives such as TNT and RDX within 10 seconds. “This is the first time multiple explosives have been detected using a single sensor before, demonstrating proof-of-concept for this approach,” said lead researcher, William Peveler from University College London. “Our sensor changes colour within 10 seconds to give information about how much and what explosives are present in a sample,” said Peveler. “Our sensor is a significant step forward for multiple explosives detection,” said study senior author Ivan Parkin, a professor at UCL.