Terahertz Imaging:Another Way to See Through Walls

311Stylee writes: "Wow. I've never even heard of this before, but it looks genuine with a writeup on MSNBC and Space.com . Existing technology is used to measure sea temperatures through clouds via satellite, but newer cameras could be used in a huge array of applications because of their ability to see through walls, clothing, smoke and clouds. Google gets 546 hits on T-rays, inlcuding one from AT+T Bell Labs."

its 7 years old?

[vikool]

I wonder if no one noticed the little line on top that says, may 1995. If this technology is that old, how come it isnt on the market yet?
*sig*

Snow Crash!

[robj]

How quickly we forget. Snow Crash had LOTS of plot elements that were all about millimeter-wave radar. It's how the robo-dog saw the world, for heaven's sake!

"never heard of this before" -- sheesh... kids these days :-)

An application of astronomy technology

[dpp]

Telescopes like the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT [hawaii.edu]) and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO [caltech.edu]) have been using these THz waves to do astronomical research for about 15 years.

THz waves are in the millimeter/submillimeter regime of the electromagnetic spectrum, placing them between the far-infrared and the radio.

Just like we use infrared light to look at things which are at roughly room temperature, we use submillimeter light - with wavelengths about 10 times longer - to look at things which are about ten times cooler, down to a few tens of Kelvin above absolute zero.

This includes solar system bodies, comets, and clouds of interstellar gas and dust - the birthplaces of new stars. Just like in the articles, we can use submillimeter waves to see through things that entirely block visible (optical) light.