The detection of chemical warfare agents for Homeland Security and the Armed Forces

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• Sarah Price, University of Birmingham
• Friday 09 October 2009, 16:00-16:45
• Physics West 106.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dan Kirby.

Preceded by tea, coffee and biscuits in the Poynting coffee lounge at 3.30pm

Fears of terrorism and the requirement to detect dangerous chemicals in low concentrations is leading to an ever-increasing need, within homeland security, for reliable, real-time and sensitive detection of a wide range of substances that are a threat to the safety of our society. The chemicals needed to be detected range from explosives through to illegal drugs and chemical and biological warfare agents.

The most commonly used apparatus for this type of security is often based on the Ion Mobility Spectrometer (IMS). IMS is the underlying technology for a wide range of Chemical Warfare (CW) agent, drug and explosive detectors, and environmental monitors. IMS detection is fast and highly sensitive and is employed in transportation security, and in military and civilian facilities.

This seminar will cover the underlying principles of the chemistry and physics that occur in the IMS . It will address the limitations of the IMS and the ongoing research, which involves the Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (ITMS), to improve and understand IMS technology.

This talk is part of the Molecular and Medical Physics Seminar Series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Molecular and Medical Physics Seminar Series
• Physics West 106
• What's on in Physics?

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