Friday, February 4, 2011

New "Air Laser" to measure environmental pollutants

Now there is a new tool for remote measurements of trace amounts of chemicals in the air.

Researchers at Princeton University have developed a new laser sensing technology that may help soldiers detect hidden bombs and allow scientists to take note of environmental pollutants and greenhouse gases in the air.

The engineers’ technology sends out a laser pulse that reacts with the molecules in the air. It returns as an entirely new laser beam generated by oxygen atoms, whose electrons have been “excited” to high energy levels, explains the article from ScienceDaily, posted on Feb. 2, 2011.

They call it the "Air Laser," and once it is fine-tuned it could be a powerful tool for remote measurements of environmental pollutants.

No comments:

Post a Comment