U.S. Develops Efficient, Cheap Handheld Military Chemical Detectors

[China Instrument Network Instrument Development] The Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) has become an important defensive tool in battlefields and war-torn regions in the past few years. JCAD alerts when a VHS tape or hardcover-sized shape is detected, and starts flashing when a nerve agent such as Sarin or a bubble capping agent (such as mustard gas) is found.

Current designed detectors can be reused in complex environments. The U.S. Department of Defense also requires that testing equipment be highly sensitive to chemicals. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a news report that its researchers have provided a cost-effective solution for this purpose. During the course of the study, NIST researchers invented an auxiliary device called the Threshold Confidence Detector (TCC), which weighs only a few grams, such as a cigarette lighter. The TCC can be placed on top of a chemical detector to accurately detect the sensing capabilities of each device. The TCC does not require any special training or scientific knowledge from the operator. The cost per use is less than $1 and the test can be repeated. The test takes only a few minutes.

Unlike traditional methods using large spectrometers to detect equipment and detecting steam by chemical characteristics in infrared light, this is a small, inexpensive method, and it is simple and convenient to transport. No special training staff is required. The NIST research team began researching and developing TCC in 2010. It was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense to start large-scale production. Currently, the company has signed 60,000 urgent orders.

(Original title: U.S. Develops Efficient, Cheap Hand-held Military Chemical Detectors)