Determining Hazardous Substances at Arm's Length

摘要

The police, military, fire service, and rescue services are frequently faced with situations where they encounter unknown substances: a secret laboratory, a leak in a tanker, or the discovery of an unidentified powder. Rapid identification of the substance is essential to making a decision on how to proceed. Yet to do this, contact with the substance must be avoided as far as possible, as under these circumstances, an unknown substance could potentially be a hazardous substance. Raman spectroscopy can solve this problem: A laser beam is directed at the substance to be determined. The light interacts with the substance and is modified in a unique way. Analysing the scattered light enables the substance to be uniquely determined. This all happens in a matter of seconds.