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Originally Posted by Ernie
I've heard of this being taught in 3rd world counties where countless children have lost legs and or been killed. Better systems are available eg - http://www.csiro.au/files/mediarelea...Prlandmine.htm but the costs of these machines are huge.
It's sometimes a sad world we live in.
Ernie |
The link you posted has some interesting information about landmine detecting.
According to this article, the United Nations estimates that 26,000 people are killed or maimed each year by land mines.
Of these, 80 per cent are civilians, especially women, children and farmers in developing countries.
An estimated 60-100 million landmines are buried in over 60 countries, mostly in unknown locations.
The Red Cross has estimated that to destroy just the existing mines with current methods and clearing at the current rate, would take over 1000 years.
What is sad is that people are suggesting methods like dowsing to locate landmines when methods that work are available.
The problem with landmines is there is no single method that works best to find them. A combination of several methods is often used for locating various kinds of landmines.
Some methods they list for locating landmines include using metal detectors, GPR, RF methods, thermal and visible imaging, acoustic techniques and X-ray or neutron based sensing technologies.
The new Sciro 3D imaging method uses a small amount of radioisotope (not enough to be a hazard for hand-held detector) to irradiate the ground. Then, by measuring how the gamma-rays scatter from the ground, it is possible to build up a 3D map of the ground beneath the detector and any objects it contains. What they are developing is a gamma detector that is capable of creating a 3D image of the ground beneath the detector.
Sciro has been at the cutting edge of many scientific developments, and has departments focused in developing imaging tools for the mining industry. They have a number of 3D imaging methods that can be implemented with inexpensive equipment by processing the data in their 3D software. Even simple camera images can be used to create 3D computer maps. But the idea of creating a real time 3D view of the ground beneath you and showing what objects are in the ground would be much better than dowsing to locate a landmine.
The Sciro 3D gamma imager is not the only new mine locating method being developed using isotopes to identify hidden objects in the ground.
There are a number of related methods under development by Sciro and other groups who are interested in better mine detection technology.
The people who are responsible for landmine clearing consider these tools to be good as a secondary confirmation check after using time tested methods such as metal detecting and GPR as the primary search method.
You can get some idea of neutron and gamma methods in this PDF file:
http://www.phy.uct.ac.za/people/buff...nes%20talk.pdf
You can see videos of the HYDAD detector locating mines on this page:
http://www.phy.uct.ac.za/hydad/
Best wishes,
J_P