Scientists and experts have devised a new and innovative technique for the detection of nuclear material traces even after the radioactive materials have been removed from a location, a step that is an advancement that would not make it difficult to handle the nuclear elements anymore. The new technique takes benefit of the facts that the elements which are radio active alter the arrangements and assortment of the outer electron, or valence electrons,- in the materials which have an insulating nature like brick, glass, porcelain, even in the candies.the radiation initaites the displacement of the electrons at the defect sites present in the crystalline structure of such materials, researchers stated.
“ Basically, we can find a nuclear material which si no longer present there,” stated, associate professor at the North Carolina State University in the United Staes, Robert Hayes. Simply by taking the samples of various materials in a closed room, by the application of the traditional techniques of radiation dosimetry, and concluding the manner in which the electrons in the defect sites are assorted, the experts are capable of determining the strength and the presence of any kind of nuclear and radioactive materials that were earlier present in that room.
If the sampling was done at regular intervals in a pattern similar to a grid, the relative dose profile of the radiation can be used in the triangulation of the room where the source was located, in three dimensions, researchers added. “ It can also give a very rough idea about the physical dimension of the source, however, it depends on various factors, like to what extent the source was close to the material which was being sampled,” Hayes added. Measurement of the radiation dose can be done by taking a sample of the insulating material at different depths in the sampled material itself, which type of radiation was present can also be ascertained.